The Serpents of Slytherin Book 1 - Lair of the Serpents
by Doran's Ring
Summary: NON-BWL STORY. Slytherin AU Harry Potter. Hadrian Fleamont Potter and Antonius Ignatius Black are both the brightest students to come to Hogwarts since Tom Riddle and Albus Dumbledore. Hadrian's younger twin brother, Julian James Potter is the BWL. Hadrian and Antoninus are great friends with great aspirations and ambitious. [NO PAIRINGS] Until 4th year maybe.
1. Chapter 1: Stockwell's Orphanage

**THE SERPENTS OF SLYTHERIN [**BOOK 1 - LAIR OF THE SERPENTS**]**

-Doran's Ring-

HP AU Fanfic

Parseltongue = $$ words $$

Italics = _inner thoughts of a character_

**Chapter 1: Stockwell's Orphanage**

Hadrian focused, he cleared his mind of distractions. Pointing at the chair in the room, he swiped his hand to the right. The chair then flung itself to the right, slamming into the wall, shattering into pieces. Hadrian then focused on what the chair looked like before. He focused hard and the chair slowly but surely started to fix itself. Hadrian was incredibly satisfied with himself. He then looked over and still saw Antoninus hovering off the ground, sitting cross-legged in the air. He had another two chairs rotating around him slowly in the air.

Antoninus was Hadrian's only friend throughout his stay at Stockwell's Orphanage. Antoninus had incredibly dark brown hair, that was a shaggy mess, just like Hadrian's. Antoninus had a very peculiar set of blue eyes. His left eye was lighter colored, an opal blue, whereas his right eye was a deep sapphire blue. Hadrian's eyes were also quite unique. They were a mesmerizing bright emerald green.

At first, when Hadrian first got here, he had been jealous of Antoninus. Hadrian never knew his parents, he just remembered waking up in the Orphanage. Antoninus had a few memories of his father, even if they were of his death. Regulus Black was his father. However, he then found out that Antoninus was dumped here by his mother. His mother had given the Orphanage his name and never returned. Hadrian and Antoninus then grew close, the other boys at the Orphanage would pick on them, and the girls would avoid them like the plague since they were both... different.

One day when the boys were playing near the swing, the other boys teamed up on them. The two of them fought back to back against them. Something interesting then occurred, Hadrian had flung one of the boys back without touching him and Antoninus seemingly made two of the boy's magnets as they shot towards each other, crashing, and knocking themselves out. The Orphanage staff turned a blind eye to these bullying incidents. They never believed Hadrian and Antoninus' side of the story. They stuck close to each other and relied on one another to get through those difficult times.

It was clear to the two boys after that day that they were special. The first few weeks after the incident, the boys had no success replicating what they previously did. Nothing was happening. Then, by a stroke of luck, the boys came across one of the leftover magazines left behind by the older boys in the Orphanage. That was when the two of them got the idea to do meditation and exercises from a Star Wars comic inside the magazine.

Hadrian and Antoninus were inspired by the idea and concept to 'let the force flow through them' and tried to mimic what the characters in the comic were doing. For the past five years in the Orphanage, they practiced based on that idea. Let whatever energy they were commanding flow through them. They would clear their minds and focus intently. This had led the boys to do incredible things that they themselves could not explain. They could manipulate objects, lift them, throw them, break them, without even touching them. They walked past groups of people without them even noticing them. They could unlock and lock doors by just looking at them. The could play with fire without leaving any burns on them. Both boys knew they were special but just didn't know what was the cause of their special abilities.

"They are upstairs Mr…"

"Dumbledore."

Sister Helena looked worried for the old man. Nobody would ever approach those two boys, too many weird and unusual things happened around them.

"Thank you, Sister Helena, I will be fine from here."

Sister Helena looked reluctant to leave the old man alone with the boys, but in the end, she caved to Dumbledore's wish. Dumbledore was not having a good day. Upon realizing that Harry Potter was not at Privet Drive with the Dursleys, Dumbledore had been scouring all over muggle London to find the boy. Lily Potter had been chewing him out, whilst James took his side to try and calm her down. Dumbledore didn't doubt that was going to have repercussions for James. _If only the Dursleys had accepted Harry... how were they so cold-hearted?_

Dumbledore then knocked on the door after Sister Helena had turned the corner. To his surprise, the door unlocked itself and opened. He then walked inside and saw a row of chairs neatly piled against the wall on the far side and two boys sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of their beds. It was quite strange for the chairs to be so orderly and neat when the rest of the room was a mess. The boy with the emerald green eyes, that he knew all too well, spoke up first.

"Excuse me sir, but who might you be?"

Dumbledore's eyes then twinkled as the door behind him shut by itself. This instantly caught the two boy's attention. Their eyebrows then skyrocketed as they saw Dumbledore snap his fingers and one of the chairs that they neatly arranged earlier flew out to right behind his legs. Dumbledore then calmly sat down and his muggle suit attire.

"I am Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster at a school. I am here to give you your enrollment letters to my school. It is a special school for special individuals such as yourselves."

Both boys looked at him silently. Dumbledore then tried taking a quick look into their minds as they weren't responding when he found nothing. He momentarily lost the twinkle in his eyes as he realized that the two young boys somehow had learned the mind arts of Occlumency. _How? They weren't even at Hogwarts yet! Unless… were the boys aware of their heritage? No… if so they wouldn't be here… they would have fled to somewhere in the wizarding world by now…_

"This school teaches you to control the mysterious abilities that you have been seeing yourselves perform. This ability you have is to control magic."

That gauged a reaction and response from the two boys.

"Magic…?"

Both boys stammered out the term.

"Yes, magic. Magic can be controlled by wizards and witches… and both of you are wizards."

Hadrian and Antoninus then exchanged eye contact. Dumbledore could tell they just communicated some sort of message, but he couldn't figure out what it was as he couldn't glance at their surface thoughts.

"This school… will it teach us how to use magic? How to control it?"

Dumbledore wasn't too surprised to see how quickly the two boys accepted the concept of the existence of magic. The earlier display of the door unlocking and opening by itself proved that the boys were clearly aware of their abilities, but just didn't know what their ability was.

"Yes. The school that I am in charge of his called Hogwarts. Hogwarts is a school for wizards and witches. A school of magic. You will meet others who have the same gift as you do."

The boys then did their quick silent communication again.

"But Mr. Dumbledore, you must be mistaken. You said you came here to offer us enrollment letters… but we don't have any income to pay for school… we are orphans after all."

Dumbledore's eyes twitched slightly. He knew that Antoninus Black was an orphan, but Harry wasn't. He was unsure of how to tell Harry that his parents were alive, and he had a younger twin brother.

"Harry, you hail from an ancient wizarding family, you, your parents, and those before them are automatically given a spot at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It is the same for you, Antoninus."

That apparently was the wrong move to gain the boy's trust. Instantly both tensed, the room seemed to have darkened slightly. Dumbledore looked at Antoninus. His eyes… it reminded him of Gellert. _I wonder if he too was born with the Eye of Kilrogg..._ In fact, the two boys closeness reminded him of he and Gellert when they were young and rash.

"My name is Hadrian, not… Harry, Mr. Dumbledore. Also, how do you know our names? We haven't introduced ourselves…"

Hadrian's tone had changed from polite to borderline demanding. The rooms shadows seemed to grow longer despite the sun's fixed position in the sky.

"I know your names due to the registration list at Hogwarts."

Dumbledore then took at the enrollment letters and sent them gliding towards the boys slowly. Both boys grabbed hold of the letters but didn't open them, continuing to observe the Headmaster.

"I also know your name Harr- Hadrian, because your parents are alive. They sent me to also come and find you…and bring you to them."

Both boys eyes widened at the revelation. The shadows in the room then went back to normal. Hadrian was conflicted, he didn't know what to think. This, however, told Dumbledore that it was Antoninus who was manipulating the shadows earlier. _Another similarity to Gellert…_ Hadrian then spoke up, his voice stern and resolute.

"Impossible! They would have come for me… They wouldn't have abandoned me!"

His rage of emotions caused every object in the room to shake slightly. Dumbledore appeared calm on the outside but was incredibly shocked on the inside. _Both boys were incredibly talented with magic… such control and raw power of their abilities for their age… Hadrian had shown a lot more power than his twin brother._ Hadrian seemed to have caught Dumbledore's mind wandering slightly and glared at him with those emerald green eyes.

"Even if they were alive, why did they send you! Why aren't they here? Did they have more important things to do than to come to find their long lost abandoned son?"

The slight sarcasm at the end made Dumbledore's expression age several years.

"It was for security reasons that I cannot say… you weren't supposed to be at an Orphanage Hadrian. You were supposed to be with the Dursleys, your mother's side of the family, but then they-"

"Sent me to this Orphanage. You don't need to connect the dots for me Mr. Dumbledore. I can understand just fine."

Hadrian felt angry, betrayed and hurt all at the same time. He didn't know what to think of his family being alive. He then remembered the meditation exercises he and Antoninus did. He slowly calmed down and regained his composure. Despite his family's betrayal, this was also a chance! A chance to see the wizarding world before going to the school Hogwarts.

"If I go… can Antoninus come with me?"

Dumbledore wasn't quite sure what to say. Black… that had been a bit of a sore spot to James in particular for the last eleven years. He had taken Sirius' betrayal even harsher than the rest of the Order. Dumbledore wasn't sure how he'd react to Antoninus.

"I am not sure if that is a good idea, Hadrian… Your family's history with the Blacks is-"

"If he can't go, then I don't go. I am not going to leave this forsaken place without him."

Dumbledore looked at the two boys for a long time.

"Very well. Please read the letters when I am gone. You will find it most informative. I will send another teacher from the school to come to pick both of you up."

Dumbledore then stood up and took out his wand. Both boys looked curiously at the wooden object in his hand. A small white light emitted from the tip of his wand as he waved it around the room. The chair he just sat on flipped back to the neat row at the side. The cracked and broken wooden floorboards fixed themselves. The carpet then dusted and cleaned itself. The wall paint was then refurbished. The messy room in the span of seconds was now spotlessly clean. Both boys looked at wonder at Dumbledore.

"You will learn that at Hogwarts. Now, Hadrian, Antoninus, I will be leaving now. I will see you at the start of term."

The door then opened itself as Dumbledore walked out. It then closed and locked itself again. Hadrian and Antoninus sat quietly, lost in thought for a while. They then discussed many things after Dumbledore had left. Whilst Hadrian still didn't know what to think of his family and their abandonment. Dumbledore could tell him it was for security reasons or whatever, but Hadrian already saw the deceit in his words. He wasn't telling them the full truth for whatever reason. He had also meant what he said, he wasn't going anywhere without Antoninus, not if he could help it.


	2. Chapter 2: Diagon Alley

**Chapter 2: Diagon Alley**

Hadrian and Antoninus followed behind Professor McGonagall through the busy streets of Diagon Alley. The two boys had been mesmerized by the crowded streets, flying objects, and magical creatures and people that passed by. They were currently heading towards this tall white marble building called Gringotts. Upon entry, both boys barely contained their gasps. The place was extremely luxurious and grand. The floor was as smooth as the marble on the exterior. The desks were all extremely clean and well-furnished wood. The room was also lit by various large chandeliers hanging from the ceiling.

Hadrian and Antoninus followed McGonagall as they walked past various desks and the, what appeared to be, goblins seated at them. Antoninus had pointed that out to him that they were goblins as they looked similar to some of the depiction of goblins from the muggle literature they read at the Orphanage.

"Name?"

The goblin at the didn't stop writing at his desk. He asked the question without looking up at McGonagall, Hadrian or Antoninus.

"Professor McGonagall, with her two charges for the day, Hadrian Potter and Antoninus Black."

The goblin paused then tilted his head up to look at the two boys.

"Keys?"

McGonagall then handed over their vault keys to the goblin. She then also whispered something to the goblin. Hadrian and Antoninus barely caught what she whispered, something about a 'artifact for APWBD'. The goblin then growled slightly.

"Very well, accountant Sharptooth! Bloodfang!"

The goblin at the desk barked out, what Hadrian and Antoninus thought were goblin names, and two goblins came in from one of the hallways behind him.

"Please escort Mr. Potter and Black here to their vaults."

Hadrian and Antoninus then both left with their goblin escort. McGonagall couldn't follow them apparently, quite a relief to the boys. They were never fond of overbearing authority figures… they had failed them to many times in the past. Those who claimed that they knew what was best for them…bollocks. The boys then were lead into a room. They silently exchanged messages through their eyes again. _This doesn't seem like a vault… _

"I apologize for the delay in visiting your vault Mr. Potter, Mr. Black… but certain circumstances have caused us to seek out this meeting first."

Both boys were on guard and weary.

"We have noticed a breach in protocol by the Headmaster of Hogwarts that may or may not be in the best interests of both of you."

Hadrian and Antoninus were already on thin ice about the Headmaster, this situation did not help gain him their trust.

"And what might this breach be, accountant Bloodfang?"

Antoninus' polite and cordial answer caught the goblin off guard. Bloodfang looked at Sharptooth, who had a similar response to him. Bloodfang then turned back with a cruel grin.

"We have reason to believe that Albus Dumbledore may have tampered with sealing the will of Sirius Orion Black, your uncle."

Antoninus looked thoughtful for a moment.

"I am sorry accountant Bloodfang, but I didn't know that I had an uncle and that he died."

The goblin growled slightly.

"That and the mystery behind sealing of his will by Albus Dumbledore is why we chose to have this secretive meeting. As he assigned himself as your Magical Guardian but failed to provide you with knowledge and education of your heritage."

Antoninus' different gradient eyes flared with a glare. _That old man… _The other goblin then spoke up.

"Mr. Potter, what is the animal in the Potters crest?"

Hadrian's mind drew a blank, he just shook his head at the goblin.

"Do you know when your trust fund was established?"

Hadrian shook his head again. Sharptooth then exchanged a look with Bloodfang.

"Have you ever signed a form issued by Gringotts?"

"Account Sharptooth, I grew up in at Stockwell's Orphanage with Antoninus, he nor I had ever seen any forms issued by Gringotts."

Sharptooth scowled and angrily went to pick up some letters from a desk nearby. _The bloody boy isn't even a bloody orphan for Merlin's sake!_

"These were the letters sent back to us for your trust fund, which were signed by your guardian and yourself. As you can see, your name is signed with House Potter's crest next to it. The fact that you just stated you don't know the crest and have never seen this letter before is a breach of Gringotts protocol."

Hadrian honestly didn't know what to feel. _Again… it just seemed like adults trying to get one over him and Antoninus. Telling them things that they only wish to tell as they 'know what's best' This wasn't anything that the two boys were unused to_.

"Since this is the case, accountant Bloodfang and I have taken it upon ourselves to provide you two with the knowledge on the wizarding world's laws, customs, and etiquette… as you have clearly been kept in the dark on it."

The goblin pair then walked away and came back with a book and a ring each.

"This here is the Heir ring for the Potters… as you are the older twin to your twin brother, you are the Heir to the Most Noble and Ancient House of Potter."

Hadrian didn't register the latter half of the statement.

"I… I have a twin brother?"

The goblin's eyes twitched so violently that it looked like his eyes were about to pop out.

"Yes you do, Mr. Potter."

Bloodfang then explained the same thing to Antoninus, without the reveal of a twin brother obviously, and gave him the Black Heir ring. The goblins then quickly gave them a brief overview of what they should have been told about the wizarding world before pressing the spine of the book, shrinking it down and giving it to the two boys. They warned that they shouldn't let McGonagall know about their books for she may relay back to Dumbledore that they were aware of their heritage. The goblin advised that until they got their wands from Ollivanders, and were at a safe and private location, that they unshrink the books and read them. The goblin pair then gave them each a small pouch that contained three hundred gallons each.

"This was withdrawn from both of your trust vaults during our meeting. It will be enough to get you some school supplies and some new robes… those muggle outfits are quite disgusting."

Hadrian and Antoninus both had to agree with the goblin. They had seen the clothing of various wizards and witches on their way to the bank. They were walking around with clean robes or in suits. They weren't wearing oversized clothing with slight holes and rips in them. The two of them, after all, had to make do with whatever clothing the Orphanage provided them with. Since the adults weren't fond of them, they gave the best clothes they had to the other kids, whilst Antoninus and he got the worst. Hadrian and Antoninus then bowed slightly to Sharptooth and Bloodfang.

"Thank you accountant Sharptooth. This has been most informative and quite the revelation."

Sharptooth gave Hadrian a cruel smile again. _That must be their way of showing respect? Happiness? A bit odd…_

"Indeed Mr. Potter, Mr. Black. If you don't receive the statements regarding the withdrawal of the three hundred gallons from your trust vault, please owl us… there is much more that we wished to discuss… but this much will do for now. If you could come to us next summer after your first year, we will have more time to discuss more delicate matters"

Hadrian and Antoninus then both left. When they got back, a stern and rigid McGonagall was waiting for them. She now had some sort of pouch secured around the belt on her waist. The two boys then followed her out and towards Ollivanders. Both boys were incredibly excited to get their wands after they saw what Dumbledore did with one. Although they didn't like Dumbledore, they still respected his skill with magic and his control over it.

McGonagall then left them in front of Ollivanders, saying she needed to take care of some other business. Hadrian and Antoninus had no doubt that the 'business' was related to the pouch attached to her waist. She said for them to wait here for her and that she would be back soon. _Being left on their own and kept in the dark about other information? Having to figure out and do stuff on our own? Yeah… seems like the usual._

The two boys then entered the old wandmaker's building. Upon entering the boys saw shelves and shelves of small rectangular boxes behind the main desk. The inside of the building was a lot larger than the outside. _Must be some sort of enlarging or expanding magic…_ Hadrian let his thoughts wander when he was suddenly startled by a man sliding into view on a nearby shelf. Hadrian flicked his eyes at Antoninus and saw that he was perfectly calm. He always somehow saw stuff before they came, or was unusually perceptive.

"Ah… I wondered when I'd be seeing you here Mr. Potter… your twin brother had acquired a rare wand from my possession not long ago…his parents and him were just here yesterday…"

Hadrian swallowed down his anger. The wandmaker might not have meant it as an anything rude, but he was angry at him for the assumption of his relationship with his parents and brother.

"And… Mr. Black, how wonderful to see another member of your family in my stores… and my my…"

Ollivander then leaned forward from his position on the shelf to take a closer look at Antoninus.

"... born with the Eye of Kilrogg… how interesting."

"Sorry, sir… what is the Eye of Kilrogg?"

Antoninus had pretty much asked the question Hadrian wanted to ask.

"It is a rare magical trait that allows a witch or wizard to view the magical auras around people and objects…and see a few things that others cannot."

Suddenly everything surrounding Antoninus made sense in Hadrian's head. _That's how he seemed to never be taken surprise by the older kids at the Orphanage. He literally could see them coming through the door and walls… but wait… muggles couldn't have magical auras… so how? _Antoninus then voiced out Hadrian's thoughts again.

"Ah… a common misunderstanding. Muggles too have an aura as well Mr. Black, the aura is just different and non-magical in nature. Your left eye, I am guessing here, can also recognize those without any magical auras, just as those with auras."

The boys both nodded at this.

"Now… enough about that… you are both here for wands after all. Mister Potter… let's get you a wand first."

Ollivander than disappeared between the shelves and came back with a box. He opened it and passed Hadrian the wand. Hadrian then decided to copy what Dumbledore did. He waved his wand in a circular motion and shattered the glass cup on the desk. He was afraid he was going to get scolded or punished when Ollivander just walked away, doing nothing to him.

"Apparently not…"

Ollivander then came back with a different wand and took the previous one from Hadrian. Hadrian gave the wand a slight flick this time instead of the large circular motion. It then caused a few of the boxes of wands on a shelf to the left to fly out of their confinement.

"Guess not…"

This process went on for a long time until Hadrian went through every wand. Antoninus was laughing slightly at the chaos created by Hadrian.

"How about you take a break Mr. Potter. I apologize, this hasn't happened in a very very long time. I will take you through my store to make a wand for you later. Mr. Black… if you'd please?"

The process went the exact same for Antoninus. The store was in even more of a mess now because of Antoninus. This time it was Hadrian's turn to laugh. Antoninus during testing various wands even accidentally set Ollivander's hair on fire.

"This hasn't happened since the start when I opened the store, now it occurs with two students! Amazing! Amazing! Come, Mr. Black, Mr. Potter."

Hadrian and Antoninus both looked at the crazy wandmaker as they followed him through his store. They then entered a room with a flat wooden table and various glass jars on the shelf near it.

"Look around and see which objects calls to you…"

Both boys wandered around the room, returning with two jars each. One of the jars being the same.

"Curious… very curious… Now please see which type of wood, again, point to the wood that calls to you."

Both boys placed down their jars and went to go feel the woods. Hadrian pointed at a dark greyish wood whilst Antoninus pointed at a dark brownish wood. Ollivander then got to work. The boys then watched in awe as the wandmaker crafted their wands.

"For Mr. Black… a wand made from Cedarwood, 13 and a half inches... with a wand core of thestral heartstring… coated with Arachne's acromantula venom."

Antoninus then received his wand. Antoninus then darkened the room as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Upon contact with the wand, it was as if he found a long lost part of his body. When he opened his eyes, the room returned to normal.

"And for Mr. Potter… a wand made from Ashwood, 13 and a half inches… with a wand core of a basilisk fang… coated with the same acromantula venom as Mr. Black's wand."

Hadrian and Antoninus stared at each other in surprise. Hadrian then took his wand and the room seemed to become warmer as he felt a rush of completion go through his body. There was also a scent of ash in the air, as if something was burning.

"Curious… isn't it? That the two of you, whilst the wand core might be different and not brother wands, the venom coating of the core of your wands come from the exact same acromantula that gave it."

Both boys didn't know how to respond at the wandmaker.

"As I have always said, the wand chooses the wizard… it isn't always clear why…"

Ollivander then gave a curt smiled at the two boys.

"... but I think it is clear that we can expect great things from you both."

By the time they got back to the front of the shop, McGonagall was extremely flustered and thought we had been kidnapped when she saw nobody here.

"Come now, Minerva… the most peculiar thing just occurred after Julian Potter got his wand yesterday! I just had to handcraft both Mr. Potter and Mr. Black's wands."

McGonagall's eyes nearly popped out of her sockets. That almost caused both boys to break down with laughter. Ollivander had insisted that the two wands he made were for free, much to McGonagall's dismay. He only insisted that the two boys took good care of them and used them well. Although Hadrian's impression of him wasn't good at first, he had now come to have a lot of respect for the man and his love for wandmaking.

McGonagall first took them to buy their school books and trunks. The trunks that Hadrian and Antoninus bought had a secret compartment in them. They smirked, knowing that this would be useful later in the future. McGonagall then took them to Madam Malkins to get proper clothes. She seemed pleased when they bought their black acromantula silk robes for Hogwarts. _Acromantula huh? How fitting…_ The two boys then selected out many other types of clothes. They got some casual wear and a grey no zipper styled hoodie cloaks. Hadrian also bought some new glasses that had some pretty nifty charms on it. After the hectic day of shopping and getting school equipment, the boys were sent back to the Orphanage by McGonagall.


	3. Chapter 3: Hogwarts Express

**Chapter 3: Hogwarts Express**

Hadrian and Antoninus had easily found the portal between platforms 9 and 10. Antoninus' Eye of Kilrog made it way too easy. When they got onto platform 9 ¾ it was quite a crowd. Various children made their way onto the train after hugging and getting a goodbye kiss on the forehead from their parents. Hadrian and Antoninus stared at them with envy and longing. _At least Antoninus can dream of such a thing… knowing that my parents purposefully sent me away and denied this from me… fuck them…_ The two boys boarded the Hogwarts train and found a compartment near the end.

"Expelliarmus!"

Antoninus ducked his head in time as the spell seared over his head and hit someone behind him. It sent the guy flying backward and away.

"Ah sorry! That was Fred!"

"No I'm Fred! That was George!"

Antoninus and Hadrian then walked passed, completely unfazed by the chaos in the corridor. They levitated their trunks onto the slot above their heads before locking the compartment door wandlessly. After all, there was no need to use their wands to perform something that they could without one, not that they would let anyone else know that.

Both boys then got changed into their elegant robes and clothes before sitting down and tearing into their school books. They had spent every waking moment since they got back from Diagon Alley on practcing magic. McGonagall had given them a warning about the Ministry rules on underage magic and the trace placed on wands. However… their wands were newly made by Ollivander and may not have had the trace applied. Antoninus had tested this and cast the unlocking charm, Alohamora with his wand. No letter came of their use of magic. This also then proved to them that if they did magic without a wand, it wouldn't be picked up by the Ministry either.

The boys had almost finished the entire first-year syllabus by the time they boarded the Hogwarts Express. Hadrian had taken in more of an interest in Potions and Transfiguration whereas Antoninus seemed only more interested in Charms and Defence Against the Dark Arts.

Antoninus was a more logical person. On the few books they had stolen, then later returned from Sister Helena's office, Antoninus always was interested in the logic puzzles or math books, whereas Hadrian loved the creative and art books. From what they have read, Transfiguration and Potions required a person to think outside the normal, to visualize a different outcome. It was very much in line with Hadrian's interests and passions.

A loud ruckus then stirred up outside.

"It's the Potters!"

"Look it's him!"

"Julian Potter!"

"The boy-who-lived!"

The two of them tilted their heads up to look out the window. Hadrian then saw, what must be, his family calmly walk by with flashes from cameras going off around them and journalists calling at them. _So the Potters are this famous? Another thing nobody told me about…_ He read from the book that Sharptooth game him that the Potters come from a line of battle mages. They were experts in transfiguration. It also mentioned that the Potters were a relatively private Pureblood family in the past, often avoiding to get involved in heated debates in the Wizengamot. _Whatever this is about… it must be recent…_ The boys then returned to their books, not giving the spectacle outside much more thought.

"Well… I guess that is it for first-year magic material… it was… disappointing."

Hadrian had also just finished and looked up to reply to Antoninus.

"I agree, the average student must have not practiced or known how to cast magic prior to coming to Hogwarts."

"At least this will give us an edge over the other first-years. We could always go to the Hogwarts library for more material. Who knows? We might even find information on that magical art that your glasses seller told us about"

_Yes… the man who sold me my current glasses that I am wearing… _He had told Hadrian of the various self-cleaning charms and sticking charm to keep his glasses on his head unless removed by his hands. It also had an anti-summon charm so that other witches or wizards couldn't use this spell called Accio to get them.

However, the reason his glasses costed every last galleon he had was that it had also been charmed to help stave off Passive Legillmency glances. Thankfully when Hadrian and Antoninus learned they were both Occlumens that day, McGonagall hadn't listened in. The shop keeper had recognized them as Occlumens after rudely attempting to do a Passive Legillmency scan of their minds themselves. However, he told the two boys of mind magic and how great wizards like Dumbledore knew of them. It was enough to push Hadrian to buy the glasses for that expensive price and wanting to learn more about the mind arts. _It was reassuring to know that both Antoninus and I were Occlumens… maybe practicing it had something to do with our meditation… when we cleared our mind? Hmmm… _

"True… but since we are ahead, I would like to explore the castle first before diving into that… and second-year material. After reading _Hogwarts A History_, there could be many secrets and other knowledge the castle has to offer."

"You got a point there, we should get to know the place where we will be staying for the next seven years before we start to grind through magical knowledge again… say… what house do you think we will be sorted in."

Hadrian was pondered a bit at Antoninus' question when they heard someone banging on their compartment door. Both boys looked up and saw an older boy in tacky black robes with red trimmings, he had a red and golden badge attached to his robes. Hadrian and Antoninus were going to ignore him, but then the older boy took out his wand and unlocked the compartment.

"You are not allowed to lock doors on the train compartment."

He said those words in such a pompous manner that Hadrian almost burst out laughing.

"I am sorry Mr.?"

Antoninus let his sentence trail off.

"Weasley, Percy Weasley. Prefect of Gryffindor House."

He annunciated each word out with pride whilst pointing at his badge. Hadrian just showed an emotionless face, doing everything he could to stop the snort coming out of his mouth. _Definitely, do not want to be in that house…_

"Right then, sorry Mr. Weasley. It won't happen again."

Antoninus kept his tone of voice relatively calm whilst borderlining on sarcasm and contempt. The Gryffindor prefect narrowed his eyes and then left, shutting their compartment door. Right after he left, both boys waved their hands to lock the door. However, since they cast it at the same time, they locked then unlocked it straight away. Both laughed at their synergy.

"Well, continuing off of where we left off. I'd say after that… definitely not Gryffindor."

"Yeah… although I must admit, the book made Gryffindor's sound a lot better. Brave, honest, chivalrous. One could easily say that they are too prideful and don't think things through properly…"

"Well, the old goat is an exception. He definitely lied straight to our faces without batting an eye."

_That was true… Dumbledore was a Gryffindor… yet the man seemed more Slytherin and had a good amount of knowledge like a Ravenclaw._

"Maybe we are sorted by character traits we deem more important? The old goat seemed to have the traits listed for Gryffindor, Slytherin, and Ravenclaw. Maybe it is on what your core values are…"

"True…"

A silence then appeared between the two boys. Hadrian then spoke up.

"I'd personally want to be in Slytherin."

"WHATTT!"

A yell came from outside the compartment. Three boys stood outside the compartment and stared at them through the window. The boy that shouted out loud then tried opening the door, only to find it locked. He then banged on the window and yelled at them.

"You can't lock the doors on the train! Open up brother or you will be in trouble!"

That caught Hadrian's attention. He then took out his wand and unlocked the door, not willing to show his wandless capabilities. His brother then barged into the compartment with his two pals like he owned the place. Hadrian eyed him up and down. He had most of his facial features, messy black hair and a firm jaw. They differed in their eyes and body size. Julian had hazel brown eyes and seemed to be slightly taller with a wider frame. Hadrian had emerald green eyes and was slightly shorter and thinner than him. Oh and he wore glasses while Julian didn't. Julian was about to talk to his brother when he noticed the other boy sitting across Hadrian.

"Who are you?"

"Antoninus Black."

The room then became silent. Julian then turned to his brother.

"Come on brother, you don't want to associate with this sort. That is probably why you even said you want to be in Slytherin just now right? Come on let's-"

Julian had been halfway out the door when he realized that his brother wasn't following him.

"What are you still sitting there for? Come on?"

"No thanks."

Julian then looked at his brother before glaring at Antoninus.

"You brainwashed him, haven't you? You-"

"No, he hasn't Julian. He is my friend, so lay off of him."

Julian then accusingly looked at Hadrian.

"Harry… he is a Black!"

The redhead boy standing on the left of the doorway nodded his head.

"Death Eaters that lot."

Hadrian looked disgusted at his brother. _This was what the Potters were like? Raising a bigoted and biased child? Thank god I didn't grow up with them…_

"If you cannot be civilized around Antoninus then leave. I have nothing to say to anyone who is this crass and this rude."

Julian then roared at Hadrian.

"MERLIN'S BEARD HARRY! DO YOU KNOW WHAT THEIR FAMILY HAS DONE? SIRIUS BLACK BETRAYED OUR FAMILIES TO YOU-KNOW-WHO! YOU SHOULDN'T-"

Hadrian's eyes had gone ablaze. He took out his wand and pressed it just under Julian's chin.

"Hadrian… not Harry. Hadrian is my name. Get out."

Hadrian had stated in a very quiet but deadly voice. His friends then struggled to get their wands out of the trousers. However, two quick tickling charms sent out by Antoninus stopped them immediately.

"You… you cast that without saying anything… how-"

"Get out brother. Before I make you."

Julian looked at Hadrian with disgust and betrayal. He then left the compartment, slamming the door shut, dragging his two pals who were still laughing from the tickling charm. Before he had a chance to lock the door. A bushy haired girl then stopped by their compartment.

"Excuse me, has anyone seen a toad? A boy named Neville has-"

The girl then started at the wand out in Hadrian and Antoninus' hands.

"Oh… are you doing magic? Let's see then."

The question caught Hadrian off-guard and he honestly didn't know how to respond in his current emotional state. He had just finished dealing with his arrogant brother and now had to deal with some other first-year inquiring about magic.

"I am sorry Ms.?"

"Granger."

"I am sorry Ms. Granger, but Hadrian and I are in the middle of a private matter. Could you please leave?"

The Granger girl looked slightly embarrassed. She then took off away from them.

"Thanks for the save Antoninus, I might have let my frustration out at her."

Just as Hadrian and Antoninus put their wands away another two girls came in front of their compartment. _Great… what now? Cut me some slack for Merlin's sake. _The girl with blonde hair and dark grey eyes eyed Hadrian and Antoninus carefully. The brunette girl next to her with dark brown eyes seemed oblivious to the tension in the room. Then out of the blue, another boy came into view, he had two troll like kids standing next to him.

"Come on Greengrass, why are you-"

The blond haired boy, with so much gel in his hair to keep it slicked back like that, then paused to look at both Hadrian and Antoninus. He looked at Hadrian and Antoninus' clothes before standing up straighter.

"Excuse me, I am Draco Malfoy, Heir to the Most Noble and Ancient House of Malfoy. This here is Crabbe and Goyle… And this is Da-"

"I can introduce myself Malfoy."

The tone from the blonde girl was very cold and harsh. Hadrian and Antoninus looked at each other and quickly communicate through their eyes.

"I am Daphne Greengrass, Heir to the Most Noble and Ancient House of Greengrass."

"I am Tracey Davis of House Davis."

Hadrian watched as the kid named Malfoy and his two goons looked disgusted by what the girl Tracey just said. Antoninus then spoke first. Daphne had her extended out and both boys knew what to do as they had memorized everything in the books the goblins gave to them. Antoninus first took her hand and gently kissed it, before Hadrian followed after. Both boys then turned to Tracey, who just stared back. Daphne then elbowed Tracey in the stomach. She then realized what she did, or what she didn't do. Tracey then stuck her arm out and both boys kissed her hand.

"I am Antoninus Black, Heir to the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black."

Antoninus didn't miss the opportunity to flash his ring at them. This garnered a lot of respective looks from around the room.

"I am Hadrian Potter, Heir to the Most Noble and Ancient House of Potter."

Hadrian then also flashed his ring at them.

"What? The boy-who-lived has an older twin brother?"

Tracey unintentionally blurted this out. Daphne then immediately reprimanded her.

"Tracey!"

She hissed out Tracey's name. Daphne had already been in a bad mood from Malfoy constantly bugging her and going on about marriage contracts. She had tried to get away from him, but that was proving to be difficult as well.

Draco had the same thought as Tracey, but the ring around Hadrian's finger proved otherwise. Draco knew that only the Heir of that House could wear the ring, as magic had recognized it. He also saw this as a chance to get at Tracey.

"Yes… quiet you half-blood filth. You better listen to your superiors."

Daphne now was tempted to fire hexes at Malfoy now and screw the political ramifications that it could have on her family. However, before she could, Potter and Black beat her to it. In an instant, both wands were drawn and fired red spells with such force it sent Malfoy flying into his goons. The like a bowling ball knocking over the pins, they crashed into a heap outside in the corridor.

"Do avoid such distasteful terms… Mr. Malfoy."

"It is unbecoming of an Heir from such a Noble House."

Malfoy barely managed to get up. Shock now was written all over his face.

"Wait till my father hears about this!"

Draco and his two trolls then left down the hallway. Hadrian then waved his wand and the door shut and locked itself. Daphne looked back and forward between the door and them.

"You… you cast that non-verbally… and the two chams... those were disarming charms!"

The two boys merely smiled before sheathing their wands away. Daphne's eyes widened even further when she saw that they didn't have wrist holsters for their wand underneath their sleeves. _Impossible… they couldn't have gotten their wands out that fast… unless…_ Antoninus' question then cut her out of her thoughts.

"Now Ms. Greengrass, would you care to enlighten us what that debacle was about?"

For the rest of the train ride, Hadrian and Antoninus got to know Greengrass and Davis quite well. Well, they knew Greengrass mainly through discerning the things said by Tracey. Greengrass was reserved and quiet. Only responding to the conversation when specifically asked. All four, however, had agreed upon the house they wished to be sorted into. The house of Salazar Slytherin.


	4. Chapter 4: The Sorting Ceremony

**Chapter 4: The Sorting Ceremony**

Upon arrival at Hogsmeade train station, Hadrian, Antoninus, Daphne, and Tracey had been lead by a giant man onto a small boat, which took them across to Hogwarts. Hogwarts was a sight to behold, words wouldn't do it justice to describe how amazing it looked and felt. Antoninus had looked at the water with a slightly nervous expression. Hadrian nearly fell off the boat when Antoninus told them a giant squid in the lake was moving the boats across and not magic. When they got outside the great hall, they were given some brief entertainment as Malfoy and his brother shot insults at one another. Hadrian and Antoninus kept their eyes on the various ghosts that swirled around the room.

"TREVOR!"

Everyone turned to look at a boy with a fairly round face dive at the floor to pick up a toad. Malfoy and a few others laughed at the boy as he walked back, completely embarrassed, into the crowd. McGonagall then came back and then lead them into the great hall.

"Heads up."

Hadrian smiled as Antoninus whispered in his ear. Upon entering the great hall with the other first-years they looked up at the magically enchanted ceiling. The two of them had read about that in Hogwarts A History. While they chose to keep this fact silent, the bushy-haired girl from earlier blurted it out like how a bossy know-it-all would. Antoninus then stiffened when he looked at the staff table. Hadrian was going to ask about it when McGonagall spoke up.

"Wait along here please… Now, before we begin, Professor Dumbledore would like to say a few words."

Hadrian and Antoninus eyed Dumbledore carefully as he rose from his golden throne at the center of the staff table.

"I have a few start of term notices I wish to announce… The first years please note, that the dark forest is strictly forbidden to all students… also, our caretaker, Mr. Filch, has asked me to remind you that third-floor corridor, on the right-hand side, is out of bounds… to everyone who does not wish to die a painful death."

_That was illuminating… _Hadrian and Antoninus just looked at each other, must have been whatever McGonagall took out earlier this summer. _I wonder what was in that pouch?_

"Thank you."

"When I call your name, you will come forth… I shall place the sorting hat on your head and you will be sorted into your houses… Hermione Granger."

The bushy-haired girl nervously walked up towards the chair. She wasn't doing a good job of hiding her nerves as almost everyone near the front could hear her whispering to herself to relax. Hadrian also managed to catch the redhead boy that followed his dick of a brother around call her mental.

"Ah… right then… right… GRYFFINDOR!"

The whole of Gryffindor table applauded as Hermione Granger got sorted into their house. Hadrian noticed quite a few redheads at the table as well. _Who was that earlier again? Weasley? He probably will be sorted there then…_

"Draco Malfoy."

"SLYTHERIN!"

The hat had barely touched his head. The Slytherin table applauded for Malfoy's sorting. Tracey, that redhead who was called Ron, and a few others went before Daphne was called up.

"There's not been a bad wizard or witch that hasn't been in Slytherin!"

_Pfffft... such bigotry Weasley... houses are just houses. A bad witch or wizard is determined by their choices, not because they have been placed somewhere... what ignorance..._

"Daphne Greengrass."

Hadrian, Antoninus, and Tracey both watched as she put the sorting hat onto her head.

"Ah… ambitious… very ambitious… SLYTHERIN!"

Daphne then walked off towards the Slytherin table.

"Antoninus Black."

The whole hall quieted at his name. Whispers of all sorts started to go around. The ghosts that they saw earlier also stopped flying about, pausing, and watched him carefully.

"Do you mind? Mr. Black?"

This question caused many confused stares and the whispering to spread even more at the hat's strange request.

"_Sorry… well, that explains how you sort us a lot better…" _

"_Yes… my, my… it is very rare to get one such as yourself with such strong Occlumency shields… and my… I guess I will need to tell the older twin Potter the same later… do not worry, everything I see will be kept secret… there is no way for the Headmaster or anyone else to find out… _

The entire crowd stared at Black as he took a lot longer than the usual student.

_hmmm… difficult… a very orderly and organized mind… such distrust… and yet loyalty to those who have earned it… with a thirst to prove yourself and make your mark on the wizarding world… talent… a lot of talent… yes… I know where to put you…"_

"SLYTHERIN!"

The Slytherin table clapped accordingly whilst all the other houses glared at Antoninus as if his very existence was bad. He walked towards the table, seemingly oblivious to all the stares, and sat across Daphne.

"Hadrian Potter."

This caused words to be exchanged by many people as they didn't bother being quiet.

"The boy-who-lived has a twin brother?"

"He does look like a Potter."

"What color are his eyes?"

"Does he have a scar too?"

"Where? I don't see one!"

"Did he fight a dragon at the age of 3 as well?"

Hadrian ignored all the comments he heard from the other students. He sat down and lowered his Occlumency shields for the hat.

"_I see you are quite observant Mr. Potter. I won't dilly dally as I did with your friend then and get right to it... Oh… difficult… very difficult, plenty of courage I see… not a bad mind either… A thirst to prove yourself as well… a vow to become strong… never to be weak again__…__ there is talent… yes… lots of talent… just like Mr. Black… Oh ho ho ho… this talent! It is unquestionable then… Yes… you are definitely going to be…_

"SLYTHERIN!"

Julian Potter glared daggers at his brother whilst the whole hall went quiet. The Slytherins managed to recover and clapped accordingly. Hadrian then walked over and sat down next to Antoninus. The pair then high-fived, happy that they got sorted into the same house. A Potter in Slytherin? There has never been a Potter in Slytherin ever! However, these thoughts were lost when McGonagall called out Julian's name.

"Julian Potter."

At his name being said, everyone had stopped caring about what happened to Hadrian previously and focused on the boy-who-lived. Julian took almost as long as Hadrian, the hat seemed to be talking a bit to him as well.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The entire Gryffindor table gave a standing ovation for the boy-who-lived as he was sorted into their house. The Weasley prefect from earlier even forcefully went to shake hands with him.

Hadrian had decided to wait until they were somewhere private before he asked what Antoninus was slightly bothered by in the great hall just now. They had just finished the feast and the Slytherin prefects took them towards the Slytherin Common Room.

"Ambition!"

The stone wall then parted to create a doorway. Upon arrival, they were greeted by a man in black robes and greasy looking hair.

"Welcome to Slytherin House. I am Professor Snape, your head of house. We have some new members this year… as expected…"

The man drawled out his words with a sneer on his face. His glare intensified when it landed and Hadrian.

"Ah yes… we have Hadrian… Potter…"

Hadrian showed nothing despite being angry on the inside. The greasy man clearly was out to get him. He purposefully drew attention to him like that. He also just basically told the whole house his dislike of him. The man then turned his glare away from him.

"You should all know the rules of Slytherin, if not you will make sure you learn them quickly, as you will find that I am not too forgiving for such failure."

Some of the first-years flinched slightly.

"We are the greatest and house amongst the four… however… the other three houses will disagree. You will be against plenty of prejudice in the school… I expect that some of you here…"

Snape then gave Hadrian a condescending look that, of course, was noticed by everyone. Hadrian didn't falter and rise to the bait. Snape then scowled and returned to speaking.

"... will have to learn this lesson on your own. Slytherins do not get caught. Any disagreements and rivalries in Slytherin stay IN Slytherin. You are to show a united front at all times when outside, no exceptions… failure to do so would result in punishment."

Snape then turned to the 5th year Slytherin prefects.

"Cassius Warrington, 5th-year Prefect, boys… follow me, I will show you to your dormitories."

"Lysandra Burke, 5th-year Prefect, girls… follow me, I will show you to your dormitories."

Hadrian and Antoninus then separated from Daphne and Tracey, who now did their best to not be associated with them. _Hmph… well, who wouldn't now? Thanks to Snape_. Hadrian had realized it wasn't personal. They obviously didn't want to be targeted this early on. Unfortunately, Hadrian would still note this down and get them back for it.

Hadrian and Antoninus had gotten a room for just the two of them as the other five boys filled up a room. Zabini, Nott, Goyle, Crabbe and Malfoy were in one room together. The five of them were happy to be together as they didn't want to associate with them anyway. This left the two of them to their own room, not that they minded. Since there were more boys in Slytherin this year than usual, they had to find Hadrian and Antoninus a spare room. They ended up getting an old ruddy room at the very end of the hallway. Once Warrington left their room, Hadrian quickly shut and locked the door.

"So what got you so troubled at the sorting ceremony?"

"Nothing."

"Bullshit, I saw you tense, what was it?"

Antoninus sighed, he really couldn't get one over his best friend.

"When I looked at the staff table I noticed that the man in the turban next to Professor Snape had… well… had two magical auras."

Hadrian's eyebrows shot up at that answer.

"It was unnatural… it was like there were two people inside one. One magical aura was being projected, whilst the other remained dormant, kind of asleep. I am not quite sure how to describe it… It was the first time I saw anything like that."

"Okay… I sort of understand what you are saying. We should probably keep this to ourselves. This just might be another thing that Dumbledore and the rest are hiding from us… the fact that the turban head professor hasn't revealed it as well, and nobody else has said anything, means it is being kept as a secret for a reason."

Antoninus nodded, still slightly disturbed by what he saw. Antoninus shook his head and glanced around their room. This room really had not been used for a long time. The furniture was dusty, the floorboards creaked as they stood on them and there were cobwebs near the beds.

A portrait of a snake was near one of the beds. It was barely noticeable due to the cobwebs and dust that plagued it. The snake seemed to be sleeping. Hadrian and Antoninus did what they could to clean the place up. They cast the Oculus Reparo spell to fix the floorboards and banished the cobwebs outside the window and the blowdrying charm Flante Exsurgebat. They piled the broken furniture and items on the side since they didn't know how to do the vanishing spell. This, however, woke the snake up in the portrait.

$$ Ssss… puny humans… disturbing my sssleep… sss…$$

$$ What did you just call usss? $$

The snake in the portrait widened its eyes. Antoninus turned around to look at Hadrian so quickly that he almost snapped his neck.

$$ Interessting… you are a ssspeaker little one… you speak the language of the snakes… Parseltongue…$$

"Hadrian… are you speaking… snake?"

"Parseltongue actually…"

Hadrian himself was still in shock. _Was this was the sorting hat was so confident in placing him in Slytherin? His ability to communicate with snakes?_

"Amazing… well don't let me bother you two, I'll help you unpack and go clean up the bathroom."

Antoninus then plopped their trunks near the two beads nearest to the portrait. He then dipped into the bathroom area and started to clean house.

$$ Thisss ability to ssspeak Parseltongue… can anyone elssse ssspeak it? $$

$$ No… only thossse from Salzar Slytherin's bloodline can ssspeak Parseltongue $$

_Wait… I am related to the Slytherin founder? Then can Julian also speak Parseltongue?_

$$ I see… excussse my rudeness, I am Hadrian Potter, Heir to the Most Noble and Ancient House of Potter… my friend who just left is Antoninus Black, Heir to the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black… You may call me Hadrian $$

$$ Well met… Hadrian… I am Pistis… the last sssnake familiar commanded by Corvinus Gaunt $$

$$ Gaunt? Wasssn't that family one of the sacred twenty-eight? $$

$$ Yesss they were, you see the Gaunts were… $$

Hadrian then spent the next 30 minutes talking with the portrait and learning about the history of Parseltongue, the Gaunt's and the castle. He also found out that the portraits in the school would inform the Headmaster. _I'd better be careful of what I say and do outside. I better find out how to cast a spell to stop eavsdroppers and to turn invisible before exploring the castle..._ Pistis had also warned him against revealing Parseltongue to those who he didn't trust completely. Pistis had explained that during his time witches and wizards took it is a sign of being a dark wizard and would kill people who spoke it.

Antoninus then at this moment had come out of the bathroom showered and changed. _Guess the bathroom is fixed…_ Hadrian then said goodnight to Pistis as he went to shower and change into his pajamas. They had to get up early tomorrow morning, not that he Antoninus weren't used to it. The two of them got up early in the Orphanage to have breakfast before the other children came. They then both meditated for a while, practicing what they now knew as Occlumency. After a while, both boys fell asleep, sleeping the best he ever had.


	5. Chapter 5: The Freedom of Flight

**Chapter 5: The Freedom of Flight**

Hadrian and Antoninus were already waiting in the common room by the time the other first years came down. Warrington and Burke were slightly impressed by how early and untired the two boys looked. However, the two Prefects gave nothing more than a nod at them, keeping their distance. Warrington then got up and headed for the door.

"C'mon, let's go to the great hall."

Hadrian and Antoninus walked near the back of the line. A not so subtle gap occurred between them and the rest of the first years. After getting to the great hall for breakfast, this was the case as well. Daphne and Tracey now sat closer to Malfoy and his group. _Huh… the battle lines have been drawn I guess… interesting… apparently social status has more weight than raw magical ability in Slytherin?… Daphne and Tracey clearly saw our demonstration of the 2nd year charm Expelliarmus on the train non-verbally… after Antoninus and I heard the incantation from the Weasley twins when walking through the train… _

Hadrian and Antoninus could cast nearly any spell they learned non-verbally as they already got used to doing spells that way. Magic was all about intent, the boys had discerned this earlier and could easily will their magic to do what they want. Their extensive practice of Occlumency and wandless magic previously also helped them learn and pick up spells at a substantially faster rate. _Hmmm… she might have noticed our unconventional quickdraw as well… yet she chose to separate herself from us to the extent of going near someone she loathes because of the word of a teacher… interesting… _

"So, Professor Snape is the potions professor. Well, he is definitely not going to like you more."

"Tell me about it… I'll just have to prove him wrong."

* * *

The potions classroom door slammed open, Professor Snape strode in with his cloak billowing behind him.

"There will be no foolish wand waving or silly incantations in this class… As such… I don't expect many of you to appreciate the science and exact art that is potion making, however… for those, select few… who possess the pre-disposition…"

Snape then made eye contact with Malfoy and gave him a nod. _Hah! So the man can play favorites too…_ Hadrian and Antoninus were watching Snape carefully, listening to every single word he was saying.

"I can teach you how to bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses… I can tell you how to bottle fame, brew glory and even put a stopper in death."

Snape's eyes then fixated onto the back of the room.

"Then again… some of you may have come to Hogwarts in possession of abilities so formidable that you feel confident enough… to not pay attention."

_Wonder which idiot was not looking at Snape… probably Weasley or his brother…_

"The boy-who-lived… Mr. Julian Potter… our new… celebrity. Now… tell me what I would get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

"I don't know."

The Granger girl then shot her hand up and started to wave it around.

"Don't know? Let's try again then… where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

"How would I know Snape?"

All of Slytherins looked on with glee whilst the Gryffindors looked in horror at the disrespectful tone that Julian used. Snape smirked slightly.

"10 points from Gryffindor for being disrespectful at a teacher… I will give you one more chance… What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

Julian then glared at Snape whilst Granger still had her hand up like a desperate puppy.

"How can I know when this hasn't be taught to us yet Snivellus."

"50 points from Gryffindor and detention for the next two weeks."

"What! But you-"

"5 points from Gryffindor for interrupting class."

"How can-"

"5 points from Gryffindor for continuing being a nuisance."

Julian was about to retort again. _Honestly, was he that thick and entitled?_ Julian though stopped when the Gryffindors were glaring daggers at him.

"Now then… let's see if the other Potter fairs any better… Slytherin Potter, answer the questions… in the exact same order that I gave to your incompetent brother earlier."

Julian wanted to say something but was shushed by the Gryffindors.

"Yes, Sir. Powdered root of asphodel and an infusion of wormwood would result in a Draught of Living death, I would find a Bezoar in the stomach of a goat, and as for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are from the same plant known as aconite."

Snape seemed to be slightly impressed if the frown on his face indicated that at all. Although he kept his piercing glare at Hadrian, he acknowledged his responses well.

"Interesting isn't it? What a bit of reading of the potion textbooks you bought can do… for those who aren't so lazy. 10 points to Slytherin."

Granger had looked at Hadrian with a glare. It was as if he just stole away her limelight. Class went on per usual. Snape had grudgingly given Hadrian and Antoninus' potion an O at the end of class and awarded them 10 points each. _Personally… I think he did it to just shove it in my brother's face, to tell him even more that he sucked… which in all fairness, was fine by me. The idiot did insult Snape after all in front of everyone in class…_ This led to another outburst by Julian, who seemed to not have learned his lesson, and Gryffindor lost another 10 points. Hadrian and Antoninus left class earlier than everyone else.

"Man, your brother can't take a hint, can he? He just lost Gryffindor 80 points in his first day of classes at Hogwarts."

Hadrian let out a snort.

"Yeah, he has been spoiled by the fame that comes with the boy-who-lived, but that aside… It seems like I got all the intelligent genes whilst he got troll genes."

The two boys howled with laughter as they approached the Castle training grounds outside for their first Flying class. The two waited around with Madam Hooch for the rest of the Slytherins and Gryffindors.

"How come you two are so early?"

"Hadrian and I brewed a potion and finished early for Professor Snape. He dismissed us a lot earlier than everyone else."

"I see… well then, Mr. Black, Mr. Potter, have you ever flown before?"

"No. Madam Hooch."

The quick reply in unison shocked Madam Hooch momentarily.

"I see… how about I give you a quick overview then… before everyone else gets here. Please stand over the two brooms over there, on the left or right-"

However, before she finished, both boys had already summoned the brooms to their right hand and mounted them. Madam Hooch bit back her surprise. They did it without saying "up" like most first years. Madam Hooch then quickly did the same and mounted her own broom.

"Now, when I blow my whistle, you will kick off the ground and hover. 3… 2… 1!"

Once Hadrian and Antoninus kicked off the ground, they never wanted to set foot on it again. The freedom… the wind blowing against them… It just felt so right to be in the air. They zoned out Madam Hooch's words and flew around the grounds. The two of them thought a friendly race was in order and shot around the grounds, seeing who would be the first to finish a lap. It was competitive, the two rolled over and intertwined many times in the sky. Circling and spiraling around to try and gain an advantage. Just as they finished their race they then seemed to return back down to earth and heard Madam Hooch screaming at them.

"THAT WAS RECKLESS AND DANGEROUS! YOU WERE ON THE VERY END OF YOUR BROOMS! TWIRLING LIKE THAT IN THE AIR! YOU COULD HAVE SLID OFF AND DIED!"

Hadrian and Antoninus looked down, knowing that what they did was wrong and could have cost Madam Hooch her job if anything happened to them. They went charging off into the sky like Gryffindors, head first without thinking things through.

The freedom they felt from being in the air caught them off-guard. All their life they had been tied down and suppressed by others, dangling around secretly to try and find a way around the oppression. The feeling of freedom they got from being in the air overrode their sense and they took off just doing what felt natural to them.

"However… that is okay Mr. Potter… although I would like some heads up the next time you and Mr. Black going spiraling off like that in a competitive race! Also… I had better see you both try out for the Slytherin Quidditch team… I believe there are two positions open for chaser… and based on the moves you both showed during your race…on these ruddy brooms as well... there is a chance you may be selected."

"I'm sorry Madam Hooch… but I thought first-years aren't allowed on the Quidditch team because they can't own a broom?"

_My, my Antoninus you are slipping… it said you can't own a broom, never said you couldn't borrow one!_

"Well, Mr. Black… the rules say that you cannot own a broom… that doesn't stop you from borrowing one… for a few Quidditch Games perhaps? There is also no age restriction for joining the Quidditch team at Hogwarts… so if you happened to be talented enough… and the captain of your team approves… who am I to say you can't play?"

Both boys smiled at her.

"Put your brooms down now… you will get a chance in the sky again soon. Your classmates are going to be here soon… and Mr. Potter, Mr. Black… do not do that again without asking me first. Understand?"

Both boys rapidly nodded their heads up and down. They couldn't wait to take off into the sky again. They then patiently wait around as their classmates came over. Tracey then came and stood next to Antoninus.

"Why's your hair even messier than usual?"

Antoninus raised his eyebrow at her.

"Why are you suddenly so friendly with me? Thought Hadrian and I were getting the cold shoulder from you and Greengrass."

Tracey blushed slightly at Antoninus' sharp and merciless response.

"Good afternoon class!"

"Good afternoon Madam Hooch!"

"Welcome to your first flying lesson…"

Madam Hooch then turned to look at Hadrian and Antoninus briefly before returned to addressing the entire class.

"Well? What are you waiting for, everyone step up to the left side of your broomstick if you are right handed, and right side if you are left-handed. C'mon now, hurry up."

A shuffling of feet could be heard as everyone got in position.

"Stick your hand out over your broom, and say UP!"

Hadrian and Antoninus, like before, didn't say anything and their brooms instantly shot into their hand. Tracey looked dumbfounded at them. She kept trying only for her broom to be waddling around on the floor. Hadrian glance over next to her and saw that Daphne was having the same problem.

"With feel!"

More students started to get their broom up after that advice from Madam Hooch. Weasley had caused many to laugh by saying up with such force that the broom shot up faster than he expected and whacked him in the face. Tracey then finally managed to get her broom to rise into her hand whilst Daphne still struggled. Antoninus just shook his head. _Too damn prideful… they could have just asked Hooch for different advice__…_ Daphne and few others had ended up having to pick up their broomstick from the ground.

"Now, once you got hold of your broom… I want you to mount it! And grip it tight! You don't want to be sliding off the end…"

Hadrian and Antoninus smiled at that last bit of sarcasm from Madam Hooch for their stunt earlier.

"Now… when I blow my whistle, keep your brooms steady! Hover for a moment… the lean forward slightly and touch back down! Now… On my whistle, 3… 2… 1…"

A boy with a round face then lifted of high off the ground. However, unlike Hadrian and Antoninus, he was panicked and clearly was not comfortable with being up in the air.

"Mr. Longbottom!"

Madam Hooch started running towards him to try and grab him before he went too far up. Her broom had still been left on the side. Longbottom was panicking more now as he rose into the sky. He started swaying left and right uncontrollably.

"Mr… Mr..Long-"

Madam Hooch ducked down as Neville shot up into the sky flailing around on his broom. She might be too late if she went for her broom. She needed to be here on the ground to slow his fall if he fell. _However… this wasn't the Quidditch pitch… there are plenty of statues and pillars that could cause serious injury or kill the boy…_

Madam Hooch then turned to look at Hadrian and Antoninus. Without saying a word, the two instantly understood. With a start-up sprint, they jumped onto their brooms and took off into the sky after Longbottom. Hadrian and Antoninus leaned down into their broom, catching up quickly to Longbottom. Antoninus then separated from the straight line, swaying to the left, and took out his wand. Hadrian saw Longbottom's current trajectory was going to get him impaled on that statue. _Antoninus was going to shoot Longbottom off his broom! I need to catch him! _

Hadrian then dipped down, rolling around his broom quickly and going below Longbottom. The students down below looked in horror as Longbottom made a beeline for the sharp spears that the statue was holding. Antoninus then had a good enough angle to knock Longbottom to side. He quickly hit the breaks on his broom, causing it to stray forward and make his broom vertically aligned with the ground. He hung on with his right arm and his left leg stood on the end of the broom. With his wand held in his left hand, he shot the disarming charm with enough strength and precision that it blasted Longbottom cleanly off his broom.

It was right in the nick of time. Longbottom's old school broom then collided with the statue, shattering into pieces. The second Longbottom was clear, Hadrian snatched him up and hauled him on to the back of his broom behind him. The two of them then returned to the ground, where everyone was rushing towards them. Longbottom had turned a shade of green and puked on the floor. _Thankfully he did that after that got back onto the ground… Hadrian would have been mad pissed and maybe tossed him off if he did that in the sky…_

"Alright, everyone is to keep their feet firmly on the ground whilst I take Mr. Longbottom to the hospital wing… if I see a single broom in the air… the one riding it will find themselves out of Hogwarts before they can even say Quidditch. Also… 70 points to Slytherin… for quick reactions and saving a students life!"

Everyone started whispering about Hadrian and Antoninus' flying after Madam Hooch had left. Julian looked jealous of their flying and was annoyed that their flying lesson got interrupted. Nott and Zabini looked at them with more respect. Malfoy then approached them holding a glass ball of some sort. Malfoy still disliked them for shooting spells at him on the train, but in public, Slytherins stand together... as his Godfather Snape had said.

"Good flying Potter, Black. Someone had to save that fat lump. Wouldn't have wanted flying lesson to be canceled because of the death of a stupid Gryffindor."

Malfoy seemed to barely keep his tone polite when addressing Antoninus and Hadrian.

"Also… did you see his face? Maybe if the fat lump had given this a squeeze, he would have-"

"Give it here Malfoy!"

Julian Potter outstretched his hand. Hadrian looked at his brother as if he were an idiot. _Did he seriously think Malfoy was going hand it over?_

"No… I think I will leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find!"

Malfoy then took off into the sky.

"Why are you looking at us brother, he's not a helpless Gryffindor in the sky."

Malfoy smiled and added to Hadrian's taunt.

"What's the matter other Potter, bit beyond your reach?"

Julian glared at Malfoy for being called the other Potter. Snape had called Hadrian that since he was the unimportant one. _That ferret dares call me the other potter… me… the boy-who-lived…_ The Granger girl then added insult to injury as she attempted to stop Julian.

"Julian, no way, you heard what Madam Hooch said… Besides, unlike your brother and Black, you don't even know how to fly!"

"I know how to fly you ignorant Mud- I mean, Granger!"

However, everyone caught his near slip-up. The Gryffindors looked at him with horror, whilst the Slytherins looked with glee. Hadrian and Antoninus had also been shocked at the near use of Mudblood by Julian. Julian then took off into the sky and met eye to eye with Malfoy.

"What was that other Potter? Can you finish what you were saying earlier? I think I heard Mud-"

Julian then launched forward trying to snatch the glass ball from Malfoy's hands. Malfoy, however, dived to the side and Julian missed him.

"Hmph, have it your way then!"

Malfoy then chucked the glass ball as far as he could before quickly returning to the ground. Julian then launched after the glass ball as fast he could. He shot across the training grounds quickly, accelerating faster and faster. He needed to make it in time before the glass ball collided against the stone walls of the castle.

However, to many people's surprise, he managed to catch the fairly small glass ball in time and hit the breaks right before the stone wall. After barely avoiding a crash and coming back down onto the ground, the Gryffindors, save Granger, went to crowd around him. _Granger must have been mad at the rule-breaking and hurt at being almost called a Mudblood… well, she was being overbearing and bossy…_

"Julian Potter!_…_ Follow me."

The Gryffindors stopped their cheering and grew silent as Professor McGonagall approached them. Malfoy smirked at them as the boy-who-lived got lead away.


	6. Chapter 6: A Troll that is not C and G

**Chapter 6: A Troll that is not Crabbe and Goyle**

Hadrian and Antoninus were currently making there way around the castle, disillusioned, in one of the secret passageways, they found over the last month. They had found the book on this spell just outside of the restricted section in the library. They had to take many trips to the library with their journals in hand. Making notes on the spell each time on the spell before leaving. They did it that way to avoid checking the book out of the library and arousing the suspicions of the librarian, Madam Prince.

Since, Pistis' warning of the portraits, they had made learning that a priority. Hadrian had spent three days mastering the spell perfectly whereas Antoninus got it in one go. _It was literally as if Antoninus had merged with the shadows and turned invisible. It was incredible but very annoying for me to master! _

Throughout their exploration, Antoninus had noticed something strange near the one-eyed witch and told Hadrian that it was a secret entrance. The two boys then found out that this path led to a cellar at the nearby town of Hogsmeade, outside of Hogwarts. It had been quite the find. They also found various other passages and secret rooms. There were a few that connected from the training grounds to the library and from the seventh floor to the dungeons.

However, nothing beat the Room of Requirement that they found. That room had been brilliant. Antoninus had also noticed a subtle change in the walls on the 7th-floor corridor across the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy. They had discovered that the Room had turned into whatever they required. If they needed a space to duel, done. They needed a room to lounge about and study in, done. They needed to go to the toilet, done. The Room was an incredible magical construction! Since then, the two boys have been using the Room to practice spells on each other. Just yesterday they tested the body-bind curse, Petrificus Totalus, on each other. Obviously after learning the counter curse.

* * *

The two boys now were in the great hall along with the rest of the school after a long day of Quidditch practice. Marcus Flint had been impressed by their natural talent and flying. He had made them the official starting chasers of the Slytherin Quidditch team. He even made a few seventh-years who were focused on their NEWT exams lend him and Antoninus their brooms for the upcoming Quidditch Games. Flint had been ecstatic, he was pumped up to win the Inter-House Quidditch Cup again this year.

It was currently Hallow's End, the day Julian Potter ended Voldemort's reign. There was a gigantic feast prepared with a few additional pumpkin dishes as well. _Speaking of food… where does this all come from? Hogwarts Kitchen? That is another thing we got to go explore and find later… _

"Did you hear about the break-in at Gringotts? Someone actually got past the security measures and tried to steal something from one of the vaults. Apparently nothing went missing. I doubt that though, the goblins and there lot are just trying to save face and won't tell. Father has been telling me about the stir in the Wizengamot because of this news…"

Malfoy kept going on and on about his father around to the people seated around him. Daphne and Tracey shifted over towards Hadrian and Antoninus at this point.

"Crawling back to us now that we are useful again?"

Hadrian's question was full of sarcasm. Daphne's usual cold demeanor cracked slightly. She looked slightly embarrassed. However, her expression was barely noticeable next to Tracey's reddening face. Tracey then managed to stutter out a few words.

"We… we… we were sick of listening to Malfoy."

Tracey managed to regain her composure after stuttering for a bit. Hadrian and Antoninus then went back to eating. They both knew that they wanted to initiate a conversation, but Hadrian and Antoninus weren't having any of it. Hadrian and Antoninus had both decided early on that if they wanted to be back in their good graces, they were going to have to earn it back. That would mean, them getting the courage to apologize first. Hadrian didn't think they were bad people, just very prideful. They needed to be knocked down a peg or two first. Greengrass looked like she was about to say something when the doors to the great hall slammed open.

"TROLLLLLLLL! IN THE DUNGEON! TROLL IN THE DUNGEON!"

Dumbledore then slowly stood up to look at the panicking Professor Quirrell, their stuttering DADA teacher and person with two wizard auras inside who came sprawling into the great hall.

"Thought you all should know."

SMACK! Quirrell, in dramatic fashion, fainted on to the floor. Weasley, Malfoy, and a few others stood up screaming and started to make way for the entrance of the great hall.

"SILENCE!"

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at Dumbledore.

"Everyone if you could please… not panic! Now… prefects will lead their house back to the dormitories, teachers will follow me to the dungeons."

The Prefects organized the students and they all left for their house common rooms. Once they were back in the Slytherin Common Room, Hadrian and Antoninus instantly went towards their room at the very end of the dormitory corridor. The 'old and nasty' room had turned out to be an incredible and useful room for the boys. After of course, some re-decorating. The room had led to the discovery of the snake portrait Pistis. The snake's information has been very helpful in navigating around the castle.

$$ You have returned early… Hadrian… $$

Hadrian sealed the door before sitting on his bed and looking up at the snake.

$$ Yess, there is a troll on the loose in the cassstle… We have come back early becaussse of that. $$

$$ Sss… standards have fallen sssince the old daysss… what is the Headmassster doing? Such a creature should not even be able to get into Hogwartsss... $$

$$ I don't know… but I suspect it has something to do with what a teacher took out for the Headmaster from Gringotts earlier this summer… someone is trying to steal something that is being kept in the cassstle… $$

Pistis then snapped her jaws and hissed in fury.

$$ Thatsss not the duty of the Headmaster… the Headmaster's duty is to the children in the ssschool… I would consider unleashing the… $$

$$ Unleashing what? $$

Pistis stopped for a moment.

$$ I cannot say Hadrian… you mussst discover thisss on your own. Only thossse who are worthy and true Heirs of Slytherin can find it. I have been commanded by Lord Gaunt to not tell his secrets… $$

Hadrian was a bit miffed. This was the first time the snake had denied him an answer, but he was somewhat glad that the snake was honest about it.

$$ I see… then can you tell me about this position in Slytherin House… the Serpents of Slytherin? $$

Hadrian talked a bit more to Pistis, whilst translating their conversation for Antoninus. Pistis had managed to tell them about the untold Hierarchy in Slytherin. The Serpents of Slytherin is essentially the governing council of Slytherin. Head Serpent is a mantle that is held by the strongest, most cunning and ruthless Slytherin. There can only be seven serpents at a time, with one as the head. There have been many who have ascended to that position, only to be knocked off of it soon after.

Few have managed to maintain that stature in Slytherin for a long time. Hadrian and Antoninus had recognized who was the defacto leader and current Head of the seven Serpents early on. It was actually a 6th year female Slytherin Prefect, Diana Wilkinson. Apparently, the center spot at the Slytherin table in the great hall belonged to the Serpents of Slytherin. They had managed to learn and discern that much before they were called down to the common room by Professor Snape. He seemed to have a gash just under his left knee.

After telling the house that the troll has been dealt with, everyone dispersed and left.

"Potter, Black!"

Greengrass managed to catch the two of them before they disappeared back to their rooms. Hadrian kept his annoyance inside. He wanted to get back to Pistis and discuss more about the Serpents of Slytherin.

"What is it that you need Greengrass?"

His tone was calm, without a hint of sarcasm. Daphne closed her eyes and knitted her eyebrows together. Tracey then gave her a little nudge to wake her up.

"I wanted to… apologize for my behavior… I should have reserved judgment of both you and Black after having seen your capabilities… over the last month…"

Daphne then looked at the two boys and saw small grins on each of their faces.

"Please continue Greengrass."

Tracey couldn't help giggle slightly. Seeing Daphne being pulled down to this state was a rare sight to see.

"You guys just wanted me to apologize first, didn't you! Tracey was right!"

Hadrian let out a chuckle, he wasn't going to full on laugh as that would draw too much attention.

"Yes, we did… after all… you build bridges from both sides. If one side doesn't want it built, then the other can't build it across."

"STUPEFY!"

At this moment Hadrian barely recognized a red light that shot towards him. He then was shoved out of the way from his right and onto the floor. Antoninus then took the spell in Hadrian's place and went flying and crashing into a glass table. The glass pieces went flying around onto the floor. Hadrian got off the floor and dodged the spell coming at him this time without Antoninus' shove. He looked up and saw the Malfoy ponce marching towards him, shooting another spell.

Hadrian on instinct summoned his wand. It shot out from underneath his sleeve and into his left hand. He ducked underneath the spell Malfoy cast then cast an Expelliarmus and Petrificus Totalus in quick succession. Malfoy had just barely managed to react in time and dropped to the floor dodging the two spells. He looked like a starfish on the floor. He then got up to curse at Hadrian again when he was suddenly disarmed. Hadrian watched his fly off somewhere to the left and out of view. He then concentrated and focused his magic to grab Malfoy and lift him up. _Intent... it is about intent... focus on throwing him up!_ He pointed his wand at him and Malfoy's entire body then left the ground and he shot up towards the ceiling.

"What is… what's… WHAT'S HAPPENING!"

Malfoy screamed as he was pinned against the ceiling. His face was squished against the ceiling, making a few Slytherins snickered at the sight. The force pinning Malfoy from below and the stone hard ceiling was sandwiching him and hurting his body. Everyone turned to look at Hadrian who was now joined by Antoninus as well. Antoninus had several gashes and tears in his robe and a piece of glass sticking out from the side of his cheek.

Everyone then saw Malfoy's wand in his left hand. He was the one who disarmed Malfoy earlier. The room had now become completely silent as they watched the spat between the first-years. Everyone looked at the ceiling. Malfoy was being pinned by an incredibly powerful Wingardium Leviosa spell.

"Now now Malfoy… this won't do…"

Crabbe and Goyle had tried to curse or hex Hadrian whilst he was talking. The key word here was 'tried'. They were immediately disarmed by Antoninus. He caught their wands in the same hand he held Malfoy's wand and gave them a death glare to back off.

The rest of Slytherin House at this moment finally noticed that Antoninus hadn't said anything_. Merlin's beard! Black cast that non-verbally! Potter… yes… Potter didn't say anything either when he launched the disarming and body-bind charm at Malfoy either! Or when he used that powerful Wingardium Leviosa to pin Malfoy to the ceiling! They are just first-years! _

Many Slytherins took note of the two boy's display of power. It was subtle, despite only using easy spells from third year and below, they demonstrated their absolute control and finesse with the spells they had access to.

"Come on, let him down. We need to get Black to the hospital wing. I don't want him to be going in injured to the Quidditch Match against Gryffindor! We need him in good health and well rested! You too Potter! Malfoy has learned his lesson."

Hadrian pondered his Quidditch Captain's words. He wanted to betile and say a few words or so at Malfoy before leaving. Hadrian really wished that he knew some sort of sticking charm. Leaving Malfoy there would have been hilarious and to prove his point for him to fuck off. Hadrian sighed, Flint was right, Antoninus' health is more important. _He did tank a spell and crashed into a glass table for me after all…_

Hadrian let his concentration on Malfoy go. Malfoy then screamed as he tumbled towards the ground. His two goons Crabbe and Goyle thought they could catch him, but they just turned into Malfoy's landing mat. The three of them crashed into the ground and rolled across the floor. This caused many laughs to go around the common room. Antoninus chucked their wands at their feet before leaving with Flint and Hadrian. They walked out of the common room and escorted Antoninus to the hospital wing.

"You okay Antoninus? That looked like it hurt."

"Yeah… it did."

"Sorry about that, if I had reacted quicker…"

"Don't be… besides… I think we just learned a new useful spell… the spell Malfoy shot at me…"

Hadrian recalled back to the spell Malfoy had sent at them.

"You have one weird way of looking at things Black. I was surprised at how quickly you recovered, despite being stunned. Malfoy must have not cast it with enough power as he didn't knock you out completely like how the spell is supposed to. Not all first years are like you two after all..."

Antoninus and Hadrian both chuckled at Flint's insult at Malfoy and his complement of them.

"You wouldn't happen to know the countercurse to recover someone from the Stupefy spell now Flint?"

Flint just looked at them with wide eyes, not believing in the direction this conversation was heading in.


	7. Chapter 7: Slytherin vs Gryffindor

**Chapter 7: Slytherin vs Gryffindor**

"HELLO! Welcome to Hogwarts first Quidditch Game of the Season! I am your host, Lee Jordan! And today's game is Slytherin vs GRYFFINDOR!"

The crowd then roared and cheered at Jordan's words.

"Now! On the side of the fierce and the brave! From Gryffindor… we got Johnsen! Spinnet! Belle! The Weasley twin dynamic duo! Wood! And… POTTER!"

The Gryffindor crowd roared as they shot out of the south entrance spot into the stadium.

"Now! On the slimey and slithery side of-"

"MR. JORDAN!"

"Sorry Professor McGonagall, just stating facts… From Slytherin… they got Flint- wait WHAT! They have Potter and Black as chase-"

He was cut off by Antoninus, who came out early from the north exit in the stadium, as he did a one-armed handstand on his broom when he flew by near the box where Jordan was commentating from. The Slytherins cheered as Antoninus got one over the biased commentator. The roars from them were so loud that they eclipsed the jeers and insults from the other houses. Hadrian then simply smiled, enjoying the feeling of being in the sky. He then almost fell off his broom as he recognized a man that looked like the older version of him, standing next to a woman with red hair. _That's…_

Hadrian hardened his resolve. He was going to win this game for Slytherin. Over the last couple of weeks, the letters that his so-called father had sent him had been nothing but howlers. Thankfully Hadrian had been able to suppress the howlers and open them privately with only Antoninus in his room. It would have been disastrous if everyone in the great hall saw him getting chewed out.

His mother on the other hand… he didn't know what to think of her. Whilst she came off being worried for him… she had no right to be overbearing and demanding of answers from him. Not after what she and his father did to him. She, much like his father, didn't even start the letter with an apology, like 'sorry for making you believe you were an orphan'. They just wanted to get what answers they could from him. He had tossed all the letters into the fireplace in the common room and blacklisted them from sending mail to him.

"The players take their position as Madam Hooch steps onto the Quidditch field to begin the game!"

The crowd then started to quiet down. Their eyes watched Madam Hooch's every step as she walked to the centre of the pitch, levitating a trunk and holding her broom.

"Now I want a nice and clean game… from all of you!

She then placed the trunk down and kicked it to open it.

"The bludgers are up! Followed by the golden snitch!"

Madam Hooch then picked up the Quaffle from the trunk and held it in her hands. The crowd was dead silent, amped up for the game.

"The Quaffle is released!... AND THE GAME BEGINS!"

The crowd roared as the Chasers shot forward to snatch the quaffle.

"AND… Slytherin comes away with the Quaffle…thankfully it was Black, he- Merlin's beard! That was a sloth grip roll followed by a quick dive down and up! He just dodged Johnson and Belle! Black's now heading for the Gryffindor goal posts!"

The Slytherin crowd roared in approval at the outstanding broom mechanics performed by Antoninus.

"Black passes it to Flint… Flint passes it then back to Black… Black goes for a shot! Ah ha! But it misses, that is wildly off target, where is the-"

DONG!

The Quaffle then passed through the left goal post and Slytherin has drawn first blood. The so-called wildly off-target shot was actually a pass to Hadrian who had read Flint and Antoninus' play, looped around the back to receive the pass to finish the play and score.

"And… and Hadrian Potter has scored! Slytherin scores the first goal of the match! 10 points to Slytherin!"

Hadrian, Antoninus, and Flint then cycled back quickly to defend. The Gryffindor chasers had picked up the Quaffle and were tightly packed together. They were so close together that a normal person couldn't tell who held to Quaffle. However, that wasn't an issue for Antoninus. The three Slytherin chasers watched them break apart in a triangle as a bludger shot towards them, each Gryffindor chaser went in a different direction.

"Belle has the Quaffle!"

This startled the three Gryffindor chasers as Antoninus accurately barked out which of them had the Quaffle. Flint and Hadrian then raced towards her, instantly trying to pin her down and steal the Quaffle.

"Ah! Slytherin seems to have seen through Gryffindor's ploy with the Quaffle! Belle is being pushed into a corner by Flint and Hadrian Potter… but she is able to find some room! And passes it out! What an-"

Antoninus then snatched the Quaffle and the words right out of Lee Jordan's mouth as he intercepted the Quaffle before it made it to Spinnet. He then made a beeline towards the Gryffindor posts. The Gryffindors sent boos and jeers at him to try and distract him.

Antoninus didn't even hear the crowd, he was too focused, it was just him against Wood. Antoninus quickly approached the goal posts, then all of a sudden, he rolled to the left. He outstretched his left arm, which current held the Quaffle and took aim at the left hoop. Wood then reacted quickly, going in between the center and left hoop. Then Antoninus quickly changed hands, he looped the Quaffle around his back and caught it with his right hand. Changing the hand that he held onto his broom at the same time. He then tossed it at a tight angle at the right hoop. Wood's eyes widened as he made a rush for the right hoop, but was too late, he wouldn't make it!

DONG!

Lee Jordan was speechless for a moment before he quickly recovered.

"Another goal by Slytherin… Black's got to be ambidextrous! He held the Quaffle with both hands comfortably! That's also… 20 - 0 to Slytherin."

It didn't get much better from there for Gryffindor. The Slytherin chaser trio broke up every play that the Gryffindor chaser trio attempted. Even with the aid of bludgers by the Weasley twins, they never made it past the Slytherin defense line. Gryffindor didn't even have a shot at the Slytherin goal posts! The beaters from Slytherin had sat back and shot bludgers at Julian as their chasers easily took care of the enemy chasers. The score currently was 100 - 0. The Gryffindor crowd had been deadly quiet, whilst the Slytherin crowd deafened the stadium with roars. The game kept going, the snitch having not been seen by Julian or Higgs yet.

"And another goal scored by Potter… that is his 5th goal… bringing Slytherin to 140 - 0. If this keep's up, catching the snitch won't matter…The Slytherin chaser trio's teamwork has been remarkable in scoring and defending this game…"

Everyone could hear the depressed tone in Jordan's voice. He even stopped distinguishing between which Potter was which. It was clear that Hadrian had been the more dominant and more impactful Potter. _Their teamwork was remarkable? More like completely outstanding! The three of them dissected Gryffindor's every play. _The most amazing thing had been the synergy between Potter and Black. Their no-look passes, sudden breaks and loops were all communicated without barking a word at one another. It was as if the two were of the same mind and knew where each other were all the time.

This had even turned the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws in the crowd to cheer for Slytherin. For once, they were winning by relying on skill and flawless teamwork, and not trying to break up plays by secretly fouling and other dirty tactics. Then, something unusual happened. The crowd was then filled with worry. Hadrian flicked his eyes over and saw his brother dangling with one arm on the broom. _Oh well… guess the pressure got to him... _

Hadrian zipped past the teacher stands to catch a long pass by Antoninus. He almost collided with a few professors there as he zipped past. He was in the clear as he shot towards the Gryffindor goal post. Wood had been hard pressed, he never had this many goals scored on him in his entire career as Gryffindor keeper at Hogwarts. He had only managed to save two shots so far, and both of those were from Flint.

Hadrian sped towards him he then turned towards the right hoop, still holding the Quaffle in his right arm. Wood had no choice to go in between the center and right hoop as Hadrian approached. Hadrian got closer and closer. Then Wood made his move. _If Potter hadn't released the Quaffle at this point, I can take it off him and block his shot! He is too close now to change target._ As wood dove down towards the right in front of him, Hadrian hit the breaks on his broom hard. His broom twirled around in the air spinning towards the right. Wood then saw what Hadrian was about to do, but it was too late. Hadrian had looped the Quaffle behind his back with his right arm only, from the right to the left, and did a behind the back shot at the center hoop. Wood could only helplessly watch as the Quaffle went through the center hoop.

DONG!

"That is 150 - 0 to Slytherin… Potter scores his 7th goal…"

The crowd had roared, now Gryffindor can only hope to tie the game.

"SLYTHERIN! SLYTHERIN! SLYTHERIN!"

Out of the corner of his eye, he then saw Julian dash off.

"HE'S SEEN THE SNITCH! POTTER! I mean, JULIAN POTTER HAS SEEN THE SNITCH!"

Hadrian then pulled up near Antoninus. The two nodded at each other before zipping off to take back possession of Quaffle with Flint.

Higgs and Julian were in a tight race for the Quaffle. They took a deep dive down towards the Quidditch pitch. Higgs had given up on the chase, as he thought he was going to crash, and pulled up. Julian pulled up at the last second, almost scraping his broom against the grassy field. He then tried broom surfing and stood up on his broom to grab the snitch.

DONG!

He then was distracted as he the sound of a goal being scored in the distance. _No! I can't catch it now!_ In his panic, he lost balance and dove forward and tumbled onto the ground. When he got up, he felt a nauseating feeling in his stomach. It was like something was stuck inside his body. He then spat whatever it was inside out and into his hands. Julian then stared in horror as the rest of the Slytherin Quidditch team started with predatorial smiles on their faces.

"Julian Potter has caught the snitch! The game has ended! But with the last goal by Black, and a score of 160 - 150! Slytherin wins!"

Madam Hooch's announcement caused a wave of unending roars from the Slytherin crowd. Hadrian and Antoninus flew past each other and gave each other a high five before diving down onto the pitch to join the rest of their team. It was a glorious day. A glorious day for Slytherin House. The Slytherin let out yells and shouts of victory, very happy that they defeated their longtime rivals, the Gryffindors.

Hadrian looked over to the other side of the pitch. He saw his brother on his knees, defeated and in disbelief. The rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team had tried to get him up to go shake hands, but Julian had turned into chocolate pudding, so they left him on the ground. Hadrian and Antoninus got glares by every single Gryffindor, including Wood, during their handshakes. Every single one of them also stated clearly in their face that they would win next time.

* * *

The celebration in the common room had gone on for a long time. People had smuggled in firewhisky and butterbear.

"Did you see the other Potter's face as he swallowed the snitch! Hahaha! He learned a thing two from Weasley! Eating the snitch like it was some treacle tart!"

Hadrian and Antoninus had walked past Malfoy and his gang. The two of them had snatched a butterbeer each and called it quits early and headed up to their room.

$$ Welcome back Hadrian… was your game victoriousss? $$

Hadrian took a swig of butter bear and then placed it down on the table next to his bed.

$$ Yesss, it was a gloriousss day for Slytherin! $$

$$ Your friend… did he play in your game too? $$

$$ Yesss, he was one of the main reasonsss we won… me being the main reason. $$

$$ Interessting… tell me more about your… game… $$

Hadrian then talked with Pistis for the rest of the night before going to sleep. Antoninus had not minded as he just kept practicing the wand movement for the countercurse to Stupefy and the Stupefy spell itself. After a tiring day, the two boys did their daily night time meditation exercises for Occlumency, and then fell asleep.


	8. Chapter 8: The Philosopher's Stone?

**Chapter 8: The Philosopher's Stone?**

Hadrian and Antoninus were currently in the library. They had just finished their end of terms tests for charms. They weren't going to get their results back until three days before the Yule break. It was also a good spot to get away from everyone. They had gotten sick and tired of hearing the Troll rumors and how that affected Julian's condition for the Quidditch game.

The two of them had split the spells they were learning in the library. Hadrian had started looking into more advanced transfiguration spells beyond the first-year curriculum, whilst Antoninus looked into defensive spells. They made notes in journals that they bought so that they didn't have to check the books out of the library. _Wouldn't want Madam Prince to get suspicious of first years surfing through into third-year material and above?_

"Here it is… over there."

Hadrian and Antoninus' ears perked up at hearing Granger's voice. They were on the opposite side of the shelf near their study table. The boys looked at each other and communicated something silently through their eyes.

"I checked this out weeks ago for a bit of light reading!"

"This… is light?"

Both boys rolled their eyes at Weasley's attitude. Although they didn't like Granger due to her overbearing and bossy attitude, they did respect her drive to learn more. There was a silence for a brief moment.

"Ergh! Of course! Here it is! Nicholas Flamel! Nicholas Flamel is the only known maker of the Philosopher's Stone."

"The what?"

Three voices then chorus what at the same time.

"Honestly don't any you of you read?"

Hadrian would have given Granger a round of applause for that one if he and Antoninus weren't trying to listen in. Hadrian and Antoninus then disillusioned themselves and got closer towards the shelf. He wanted to know why his brother was interested in the Philosopher's Stone. Antoninus and he had also read that book Hermione had talked about. It was about various famous witches and wizards. They had gone to look at the book for inspiration on becoming a great wizard and some of the fantastical magical feats achieved. _So why were they looking up Flamel's Stone? Why? Does Weasley want all the gold possible? No_…_ he didn't even know who Flamel was, or what the stone was_…

"The Philosopher's Stone is a legendary substance with astonishing powers, it will transform any metal into pure gold and produces the elixir of life which will make the drinker immortal."

"Immortal?"

Granger then deadpanned at Weasley.

"It means you will never die."

"I know what it means!"

Hadrian and Antoninus almost couldn't help themselves. They grabbed onto the shelf for support as both of them did their best to hold in their laughter. Julian then shushed Ron as he was being too loud.

"The only stone in existence currently belongs to Mr. Nicholas Flamel, an alchemist who last year celebrated his 665th birthday… That's what Fluffy is guarding on the third floor… that's what is under the trap door… the Philosopher's Stone."

Hadrian and Antoninus stopped dead. Cold sweat formed on their heads. _The Headmaster actually brought such a valuable artifact to a school? No Granger must be mistaken… _

_But that, unfortunately, does make sense. The Gringotts break-in, McGonagall ditching them at Ollivanders for Hogwarts business. _Hadrian already had a good understanding of McGonagall as a person after being in transfiguration class with her for so many weeks. She was strict, stern and fair. She definitely wasn't someone who would leave two students in her care on their own in the wizarding world unless she absolutely had to.

Hadrian had to admit, this does make sense. _That bloody old goat… what is he up to now? _ The two of them walked back to their table and canceled the disillusion spell. They quickly returned the books back to where they found them and headed straight for the Room of Requirement.

"Alright, this is not good."

"Forget not good Hadrian, this is disastrous. This just proves what Pistis has been telling you about. The old goat has lost it, endangering every single person here… it is not the Headmaster's job to protect the Philosopher's Stone, even if he is the bloody Albus Dumbledore, defeater of Grindelwald."

Something then clicked in Hadrian's head.

"The troll… that wasn't an accident. Someone let the troll in to try and cause a diversion…"

Antoninus eyes widened, quickly starting to catch on to Hadrian's train of thought.

"Yeah… I see what you mean... Hadrian… do you remember Professor Snape's gash on his knee after he came back to inform us that the troll has been dealt with?"

"Are you suggesting Snape is going to steal the stone? I don't like the greasy bat even if he has started to treat me better but even I-"

"No of course not! But Snape knows something… that gash… it is not an injury from a troll. A troll would have a club or an ax. Trolls are magic resistant and large but are clumsy. Their attacks are lack proper thought and intelligence. If a troll hit Snape he would be in the hospital wing with a concussion or worse, not some deep cut on his leg! That was a precise gash at Snape's knee, a key joint in the human body no less! No troll, aside from Crabbe and Goyle, are capable of that! Snape must have fought someone who was trying to get to the stone!"

"Merlin's bloody beard… you're right… a troll, if it hit Snape, could have killed him… that seemed like an injury from a more intelligent creature or even a person..."

A silence then descended between the two boys. _This was troubling… _

"We need to steal the stone… and take it out of Hogwarts."

Antoninus' eyes almost popped out of their skull.

"What prompted you to that Gryffindorish solution?"

Hadrian scowled slightly.

"The troll was no accident Antoninus, as long as the stone remains in this castle, whoever is trying to steal it is going to create more chaos that may end up injuring and killing children. I am no hero, I honestly don't care about anyone else who dies, aside from you… but if children die, or if the situation gets out of hand, think about it… they will close Hogwarts. I don't know about you, but this place beats the shitty Stockwell's Orphanage."

"…your right… sorry, Hadrian, I didn't mean to hit a nerve."

"It's okay, but you understand why this is necessary? This is our education that Dumbledore and the teaching staff at Hogwarts are playing with."

"Yeah, so when shall we do it then? And you know, risk getting expelled."

Hadrian rolled his eyes and pondered for a moment before deciding.

"During the Yule break. When all the teaching staff are gone or asleep in their quarters. Nobody will suspect us then, we just need to hope that the thief trying to steal the stone isn't thinking like us."

"Great… hope… this is what our life at Hogwarts hinges on? What has the world come to."

Hadrian then launched a spell at him.

* * *

Dumbledore sat in his office with his teaching staff in a circle around him. He was very interested to see which students had done well.

"Minerva, the end of term exams just came through did they not? Any outstanding ones amongst the first-years?"

Minerva looked slightly torn. When James Potter and Sirius Black had gone to Hogwarts, they were in Gryffindor, but they constantly slacked off and got around the middle of the pack. Now when these two names appeared again, they were at the very top of the chart, except, in Slytherin, not Gryffindor. Julian Potter hadn't done as well as she even dared to hope. McGonagall was disappointed that the one that had Lily's kind of dedication to studies went to Slytherin, and not Gryffindor.

"Yes, Albus. Hadrian Potter and Antoninus Black scored the highest in my class. Antoninus got 98%, whilst Hadrian got a full 100% on their end of term tests for transfiguration."

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled a bit.

"Really? What about you? Filius?"

"Funny you should ask Headmaster, Hadrian and Antoninus also scored the highest in my class as well. Antoninus got a full 100% whilst Hadrian got 99%.

"Aurora?"

"Both students have shown a lot of interest in my class and seemed to have a passion for looking at the stars Albus! They were very attentive. They both have gotten 100% on the quizzes that I handed out at the end of term!"

Dumbledore's eyes widened larger and larger as he went around the teachers. From what they have stated, he calculated that they would average a solid 98 - 99%. He then turned to Snape. If he gave them the same amount of praise and scored them as high as the other professors, they would definitely average what he just calculated.

"Severus?"

All eyes turned to the potions professor.

"Mr. Potter and Mr. Black are exceptional potion students. They thankfully haven't inherited the ignorant and lazy genes from those that came before them. Mr. Potter got 98% whilst Mr. Black got 96% in potions."

_Even Severus had given the two boys such praise… extraordinary…_ McGonagall was even relatively surprised by Severus' statement. Whilst he had insulted her two previous Lions, he had inadvertently praised the two boys that were under his care in his house as well.

Dumbledore sighed. If only he had been able to smooth things over with the boys. He knew they disliked him and were suspicious of him. He, after all, did have a role in Hadrian's placement at the Dursleys, which inadvertently resulted in him being placed in the Orphanage. If the two of them would fight for his cause in the light, they could go far and achieve so much. He knew what he did was for the greater good… but he still wished that he could have gotten the two promising boys over to his side. _I just need to keep trying and lose hope…not like how I did with Riddle… _Dumbledore flicked his eyes to look at Quirrell for a bit before turning to Professor Babbling.

"Amazing… I wonder what subjects the boys will pick for their third year… I do hope they pick Runes… Pardon me Headmaster, but I don't think anyone has had scores this high since your time at Hogwarts!"

Professor Babbling's statement caused the teachers to enter into a debate regarding the two boy's potential and future academic achievements. Just when they seemed to finish debating about Hadrian and Antoninus' academics, Madam Hooch stepped into the conversation and also reminded them of their flying. This then reignited the conversation and sparked another debate on how talented the boys were and there possible future career paths. This had also caused another conflict within McGonagall. _Why couldn't they be in Gryffindor? Their skills with their broom and their teamwork had been the deciding factor in the Slytherin versus Gryffindor game!_

Unbeknownst to most of the teachers in the room, Voldemort was listening in on everything they were currently saying from the back of Quirrell's head.

* * *

The entrance to the Slytherin Common Room opened as more students left for the train station in Hogsmeade.

"Honestly, I don't understand why you two are staying at Hogwarts… go home and-"

"Tracey!"

Daphne at hissed at her so venomously that Hadrian almost thought she spoke Parseltongue.

"How insensitive can you get!"

Tracey looked confused before her cheeks reddened considerably.

"Hey Hadrian, I think she figured out that you don't get along with your parents, cough cough, like really don't get along… and that I am an Orphan."

"Such astute observations Antoninus."

Despite the two's banter back and forth over their childhood, Tracey wanted to dig herself into a hole and stay there forever.

"I-I'm S-sorry...sorry, I didn't mean-n-"

Antoninus then hit Tracey with a silencio.

"Do stop stuttering, you are starting to remind me of Quirrell."

Daphne again noticed how quick Antoninus' quickdraw was and his non-verbal cast. She was certain after the fight they had with Draco in the common room. He and Hadrian were capable of wandless magic! She didn't know how they achieved it at such a young age, but she knows that they are capable of such a feat. Daphne then switched back to the topic they were talking about earlier before Tracey nearly damaged the conversation beyond repair.

"I still can't believe the two of you averaged 99% and 98% across all subjects!"

Daphne was still shocked at how astonishing their grades were. They were something that she could only dream of. Hadrian had came in first and gotten 99%, whilst Antoninus was at second with 98%. The third and fourth were nowhere near their almost perfect scores. Granger had came in third at 89% and Daphne was fourth with 88%. _Antoninus bloody Black had beaten her average by 10%! Ten bloody percent! Don't even get me started on Potter with his 11%! They had acted like it was nothing!_

"It is just the first term of tests, take it with a grain of salt."

"I am sorry, but what does that mean?"

Hadrian and Antoninus looked at each other. They silently argued who should explain to Daphne. They then decided to let Tracey tell her when she was waving her arms about at them. After Tracey explained to Daphne the meaning of 'a grain of salt' the two girls left for the train station. A while after the girls left, Hadrian and Antoninus went to the Room of Requirement to spar.

Antoninus had shown his discovery of the two shielding spells he found. Protego and Repellere. Protego is a shielding spell that can cover the entire body with a dome like a transparent shield. Repellere was essentially a miniaturized version of the Protego spell. It was essentially the Protego spell but at only the tip of the caster's wand.

These shields could block all sorts of spells aside from the unforgivables. The boys had noticed early on when testing the Repellere charm was less draining compared to the Protego spell. The Protego spell required them the channel the complete large dome shield, this was more draining on their magical core, than just creating a shield around the tip of their wand with the Repellere spell. However, both spells had their uses, and would be important to learn.

Hadrian shot three spells in succession at Antoninus. Antoninus batted each spell away with the Repellere spell. He looked like a table tennis player, batting away a ping pong ball, in his blocking movements. Antoninus then shot back and Hadrian did the same. The two of them had prioritized on mastering this first before going over any other spells. They had learned, well Antoninus had learned, the hard way of not being able to block or deflect a spell. Malfoy had sent him into a glass table because he didn't know how to block the spell when he couldn't dodge. They had to master the basics of blocking first before worrying about any sort of offense.

They then switched over to what Hadrian had learned. Hadrian had learned three spells. Evanesco, the vanishing spell, Duro, the hardening spell and Serpensortia, the snake conjuring spell. The two found lots of uses with Duro. They would throw other objects in their surroundings in the path of a spell. Using Duro, they could harden the object's properties, and they could take a more powerful spell as well. This was another form of indirect shielding that the two boys discovered after play around with the spells they had learned so far.

Serpensortia and Evanesco were more utility spells. Hadrian said that the summoned snake could act as a scout and gather information for them. Evanesco was an easy way to remove the snake and other inanimate objects. This would also make removing spilled potion ingredients and other pieces of unneeded furniture in their room easier to remove. The boys practiced hard since they were attempting to steal the Philosopher's stone on Yule eve after all. They needed all the practice they could get.


	9. Chapter 9: The old goat and his schemes

**Chapter 9: The old goat and his schemes**

The two boys walked up in front of the locked door in the 3rd-floor corridor. They wore casual clothes and a grey cloak with a hood. They didn't want to be recognized as being in Slytherin if they were caught. Dumbledore had left over an hour ago to the ICW Yule Ball in France. He had announced this at the great hall this morning, in front of the few students that remained in Hogwarts over Yule.

The boys had also confirmed that the only other teachers in the school were the Head of Houses, McGonagall, Snape, Flitwick, and Sprout. It was currently midnight as Hadrian and Antoninus went to the 3rd-floor corridor. After Antoninus carefully examined the door he then wordlessly unlocked the door with a basic Alohomora spell. Both boys just looked at each other and shook their heads. _They hadn't actually expected that to work… they were prepared to blast the door down, use some sort of secret passcode combination, or hidden clues in how to unlock the door… not some first-year unlocking spell… _

When they entered the room, they came face to face with a large Cerberus. _What in the name of Morgana… That is… Fluffy?_ Hadrian was panicking slightly as the Cerberus started to shift. A melodious tune then rang out from the right corner of the room and the Cerberus instantly went back into deep slumber. Hadrian looked at Antoninus, who had his wand pointed at the harp.

After his initial rush of fear, Hadrian wanted to facepalm at that point. _I can understand the door, it was to let people come and see a Cerberus, be scared, and runoff__… But w__hy would you leave the harp there? Keep that knowledge hidden and to yourself, if you wanted to guard something so important, don't dump its weakness in the same room as it!_ The two boys then made their way over to the trapdoor that they overheard from Granger. They opened it and looked down. _Devil's Snare? _

The two of them stared at the Devil Snare below with dumbfounded expressions on their faces. Hadrian then jumped down first, followed by Antoninus. The Devil's Snare instantly started to wrap around them. A quick Lumos had them flee away and they dropped right through it. Both boys landed hard on their asses.

"Fuck!"

Antoninus wailed at his hurt bottom.

"Yeah, that was a pain in the arse, literally... despite not being difficult at all."

The next section made the boys frown even more, it was a flying test, to grab the right key for the door. Hadrian and Antoninus had tried to avoid it if possible, but the door was firmly locked and surprise surprise, the Alohomora didn't work this time. They then decided to try to complete the task, instead of blasting the door down. It was best to not leave any residual damage behind that could be analyzed by the old goat. The boys had easily completed the flying task to snatch the correct enchanted key in the air and moved on into the next room.

The next room was quite daunting, a giant wizarding chess board. The statues of the chess pieces were tall and very stern looking. _They actually remind me of McGonagall… perhaps she designed this defense?_ The boys saw how three spots on the black's side of the chess board were missing. _Did they expect three people to take its place and play this crude game?_ Hadrian and Antoninus wanted none of that, so they disillusioned themselves and snuck around the edges of the room, without setting foot on the chess board. The chess board pieces did nothing as they entered the next room.

"Now that was quite pathetic. That might have been the most time consuming and deadliest defense if it wasn't so reliant on the person stepping on the chess board. Probably some sort of magic that register's the person's' presence or something that triggers the defense."

"Yeah…"

The boys now came upon the next challenge. They heard a stomp in the distance. Both stopped and peered around the corner of the room to take a look.

"What? Isn't that a troll? Could that be the troll that got loose? Was that one of the defenses?"

Antoninus whispered quietly in Hadrian's ear. The troll hadn't noticed them yet as they were disillusioned. Hadrian then conjured out a snake using Serpensortia.

$$ Dissstract the troll… lead it away from the entrance to the next hallway... $$

The snake obeyed his command and slithered across the hall. It then lured the troll to the other end of the room. Hadrian and Antoninus quickly went by without being noticed. After making it through, Hadrian then vanished the snake. They then arrived in the next room.

"... this is just a logic puzzles… who the fuck designed these traps…it's made so that even a first year can get through…"

Hadrian was equally as suspicious as Antoninus._ This didn't feel right… this was too easy._ Both boy's had come down here fully expecting traps that may have problems for adult wizards. They thought that they were going to have to rely on Antoninus' Eye of Kilrogg to safely navigate through, but so far, they didn't even need it. The traps had been incredibly simple and easy to navigate around to dodge.

The boys then came up into the final room. A large mirror stood in the center of the room. Hadrian and Antoninus approached the mirror. However, when they first looked at the mirror, they saw both of their own reflections. Slowly the mirror adapted for each of them. They, however, didn't notice this as they were lost in what the mirror was showing each of them. Antoninus gazed into the mirror and saw his father and mother. Hadrian saw him and the rest of the Potters in the mirror as one happy family… his dream family. The sudden images caused the boys to lose focus and drop their disillusionment charm.

Both boys stared longingly at the mirror and raised their hands to try and touch the image. Just when Hadrian was about to touch the mirror, he broke out of his trance.

"This isn't right Antoninus… my family isn't like this…"

Hadrian's broken and hurt voice startled Antoninus out of his trance. They both then didn't touch the mirror and their hands came back down to their sides. Antoninus looked down at the ground for a bit and let a tear down his left cheek. Hadrian thought that he must have also seen something in the mirror about his family as well.

"You're right… my parents are dead… killed by Voldemort or one of his followers with some sort of delayed withering curse… I watched my father die after all…and my mother… if she didn't come back after the war was over… she must have died as well…"

Hadrian knew Antoninus hated talking about his memories of his father, and the bits and pieces told to him by Sister Helena of his mother. Hadrian could understand his feelings, he, after all, also spent 11 years of his life believing that he had no family, that his parents were dead, and he was on his own in the world. Finding out that he actually had parents, and even a twin brother, who was incredibly well off and happy had been even worse for Hadrian to accept.

He had wished for the perfect family for so long, only to have it torn away from him. In some sense, he envied Antoninus. At least the memories of his parents remained as parents who loved their child, they gave up everything, even their own lives, turned on the Voldemort and his followers to make sure he lived… whereas his parents… brother… had been utter disappointments.

They valued such vain, temporary and artificial things. They cared mostly about their fame, the media, wealth and blood status. It was incredibly ironic, despite his 'family' being a light family, Julian almost called Granger a Mudblood. Hadrian had sometimes wished his family remained dead, just so that his fantasies of the ideal family wouldn't have been shattered to pieces.

"Let's go, I got it."

Hadrian shook his head to clear his thoughts of his broken dreams at Antoninus' statement. He looked down and saw Antoninus pocketing away the Philosopher's Stone.

"Wha… you… how?"

"I don't know, one minute I was thinking about my… parents… and the next moment I wanted to stay at Hogwarts, to stay at my home. That stealing the stone would help protect my home… then my reflection somehow just took the stone out of its pocket and then put it back. When I felt my pocket, the stone was just there."

Hadrian looked like someone had hit him with a Stupefy.

"That's it? THAT'S IT? YOU JUST NEEDED TO TELL THE MIRROR 'yeah… I want the stone… but I don't actually want the stone for the stone, just the stone for some non-nefarious reason' AND THE MIRROR WILL JUST GIVE IT TO YOU! WHAT KIND OF SICK JOKE IS THIS! THIS IS THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! WHAT IS THE OLD GOAT THINKING! LET'S GO! I AM SO GLAD WE STOLE THIS SHIT! SOMEONE ELSE WOULD HAVE EASILY SNATCHED THIS!"

Hadrian was utterly furious. He then caught sight of the writing on the border of the mirror. _Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi…_

"I show not your face, but your heart's desire…"

Hadrian growled these words out. He and Antoninus made their way back through the traps and came back to their room in the Slytherin dormitories at 1:30 am. That break in and steal had only taken them one and a half hour. That was a lot shorter than what the two boys expected. They had been prepared to go until 6:00 am. This was very anticlimactic.

Pistis was asleep in her portrait. It was after all, quite late at night. Hadrian quickly opened his trunk and opened a secret compartment inside. Antoninus then handed over the stone and Hadrian placed it inside the compartment. He then locked it shut, layered a bunch of his clothes and journals over it before putting his trunk away. Both boys didn't bother with their daily nighttime meditations before going to sleep. They were really not in the mood after stealing the Philosopher's Stone.

* * *

Dumbledore had just left Minister Delacour's mansion in France. The second he stepped outside the wards of the estate his phoenix Fawkes had fired in. Dumbledore's eyes widened as Fawkes told him that someone had entered the third-floor area. The phoenix had been trying to find him, but the French Minister of Magic's home had anti-phoenix wards installed and Fawkes couldn't get through.

Cold sweat went down Dumbledore forehead and he quickly then had Fawkes take him back to his office in Hogwarts. He checked his enchanted device, which was attached to his table, that told him if the stone had been removed. He was horrified when he saw that the device was dark and not glowing. _Had Voldemort, or Professor Quirrell, taken the stone?_ He then quickly checked the Hogwarts teacher's sign-in sheet. Quirrell was listed to be outside of Britain, in Germany. He also remembered seeing Quirrell hurry off, wanting to leave Hogwarts immediately during the break, so it can't have been him. _This must be the work of a third party! _Dumbledore then had Fawkes go check around the castle to see if anyone is out at this time of night. It was currently 4:30 am. When Fawkes came back empty-handed, Dumbledore sank into his chair.

"This is a disaster Fawkes!"

His phoenix let out a cheerful song to try and cheer him up. Dumbledore rubbed his old temples. If whoever stole the stone was no longer on castle grounds then there was no nothing Dumbledore could do. Dumbledore then had Fawkes flame him in front of the Mirror of Erised. He looked around for traces of the perpetrators but found nothing. When Dumbledore went through all the traps backwards, he was surprised to find most of them intact and not disarmed or destroyed. _Whoever broke in was definitely not a student at Hogwarts… yes, the traps were easy in a sense that even first-years could get past it… but everything was too clean… whoever came through here was efficient and creative in getting past these traps. _

Dumbledore was especially shocked when he came into the chess board room. None of the pieces were broken. _The attacker couldn't have repaired them… If they had fought and got destroyed, the would look brand new, and not old and dusty... _

Dumbledore tried looking for traces of spells cast but found nothing. He couldn't find any traces of magic used. The attacker must have left over an hour ago and not used any dark or very strong and powerful spells.

This just proved even more that it wasn't Quirrell, as Voldemort would have used dark magic to bypass this. _Everything is still in place… and if the thief is clever enough to get past these traps… then he or she will be clever enough to not boast about having the stone… this might still work…_

Dumbledore then made his way back to the Mirror of Erised. He waved his wand to reset the logic puzzle and potions for Professor Snape's trap before entering the room with the mirror. _The plan could still work as long as the thief doesn't tell… Quirrell and Julian will still both go for the stone and a confrontation down here would occur…_

Dumbledore let out a sigh. He should have just used a fake stone or just leave the Mirror of Erised empty in the first place. Now he had another problem on his hands. _Nicholas is going to be furious if I tell him…_

* * *

Julian had just woken up. It was Christmas morning. _Presents!_ He jumped out of his bed and sprinted down the hallways of Potter Manor. He then arrived in the living room, where his parents were already seated on the sofa.

"Merry Christmas Julian!"

"Merry Christmas Mom! Merry Christmas to you too Dad!"

Julian then went over to go open his presents. He saw his pile of gifts under the tree. He opened his gift from his Dad, it was a cloak of some sorts.

"JAMES! YOU DID NOT GIVE HIM THAT!"

Julian turned around to look at his parents.

"Come on Lily, my Dad handed it down to me this time at my age. It is like an unmentioned Potter tradition!"

"I'm sorry Dad, but what is this? It is just a cloak."

"Try it on son, and stand at the mirror over there."

Lily buried her face in her hands.

Julian then put the cloak on in front of the mirror.

"My… my body is gone! This… is this an invisibility cloak?"

"Yup! It is son!"

"You will not, and I repeated, NOT use it for any nefarious purposes, Julian! Understand? You use this if you are in danger and need to get away."

"But I am a Gryffindor Mom! We don't run away we-"

"NO! I will not have you use that cloak for pranking or any other ideas forming in your fathers head right now."

"Yes, Mom…"

"Good, now, here is my present for you."

Julian eye's widened. Based on the shape, it looked like a broom! He quickly tore through the wrapping and was in awe of what he saw.

"This is the Nimbus 2001… how is this possible. They weren't supposed to come out until this summer!"

"Your Dad and I pulled some strings for a couple of favors. They agreed to give us an early model for you to use!"

"That's so cool! Thanks, Mom…"

"Also, here is my own journal on Seeker moves. When I was watching your Dad in the past, I recorded a few of the moves that I thought were very clever in this journal."

_Of course, it was his Mom that gave some sort of book as well. With this, I can become the best Seeker at Hogwarts! We will win…_ Julian's thoughts then trailed off as he thought about the Quidditch games he had played in thus far.

"What is the matter, Jules?"

He only ever let his Mom call him that. It was embarrassing around others.

"Will I be able to win against Harry with this?"

Lily and James then exchanged a look with one another.

"Yes, but as long as you practiced hard Son. You gotta put in work to be better!"

"And not just in Quidditch, your studies as well, you can do much better-"

"Oh come on Mom, I got Es across all subjects."

Lily didn't let up on Julian so easily.

"And your A in Astronomy and History of Magic?"

"Everyone else got As as well."

"What about your friend Hermione?"

"She isn't really my friend, we are just working on something together."

Lily then looked slightly conflicted. She and James had also received Harry's grades as well and they were, to say the least jaw-dropping. Hadrian had Os across all subjects with an average of 99%. That was way higher than what she even had achieved as a top student during her time at Hogwarts. She didn't want to talk about Harry though on Christmas day. It had become a bit of a sore spot to bring it up around Julian and even James after he was sorted into Slytherin. Him leading Slytherin and beating Gryffindor in the Quidditch match didn't help things either.

To make things worse, Harry had not also responded to a single letter that she and James sent. Based on what Julian said, he refused to come to Potter Manor for Christmas break and even the summer! From the sound of it, he was willing to go back to the Orphanage instead of coming to stay with them. _I don't know what to do! _

James had also shrugged off Harry's achievement, saying it was a one-off and that Snape had something to do with it. Of course, he didn't actually say Snape, but Snivellus instead. That had earned him one night on the couch.

"Look… Jules, you have a lot of potential… I just want you to push yourself more okay? I am not expecting all Os or anything but I want you to try your best! Just like how you are trying your best for Quidditch!"

Julian contemplated his Mom's words.

"Alright, Mom… I'll try."

"Thanks, Jules, that's all I am asking."


	10. Chapter 10: The Serpents of Slytherin

**Chapter 10: ****The Serpents of Slytherin**

Two months had passed since Hadrian and Antoninus stole the stone. The school had been relatively normal. There were no accidental trolls let loose or any other events.

"The Goblin Rebellion in 1612 was quite interesting."

"Yeah, who knew how bad the discrimination and prejudice demonstrated towards their kind by wizards and witches were back then. No wonder they hate our guts."

"Remeber the battle that took place near Hogsmeade? Damn, that was brutal."

Tracey and Daphne both stared at the two boys.

"You two were actually were listening?"

Antoninus rolled his eyes.

"Yes, you must have not seen us pay attention as you were sound asleep on your desk Tracey."

The four of them then made their way to the library, as they had a free period next. Over the last two months, since the second term had started, Hadrian and Antoninus had gone back to looking at second-year material. They had no need to research advanced spells now that they have the Philosopher's stone. Their research and hard training with learning all those spells were in preparation for the theft of the stone. It turned out they didn't even use half of what they prepared.

The two boys didn't want to miss out on any knowledge so they went back to where they left off. They didn't want to miss any potential crucial building blocks to understanding magic. Hadrian and Antoninus at this point had almost finished the second year material and made notes on a lot of what they read in their journals. Daphne and Tracey had followed the boy's example and also went to pick out books.

"I swear, the book on dangerous magical creatures was around here, it was definitely-"

Hermione stopped dead when she saw Hadrian, Antoninus, Daphne, and Tracey sitting at the table. Hadrian looked up and saw that Granger, his dick of a brother, Weasley and the boy he hadn't bothered to learn's name, staring directly at him. They then had a hushed conversation amongst the four of them before Julian approached their table.

"So… little brother… what can I do for you?"

"I am not that much younger than you! We are twins! You just came out first by-"

"SSSHHHHHH!"

Madam Prince had come over and gave Julian a death glare. Julian looked abashed for his loudness in the library for a brief moment before fixing his glare back on Hadrian.

"Can we have that book?"

Julian had pointed at the book that Tracey was currently reading. It was a book on the various dangerous XXX class magical creatures. _No doubt looking for information on the Cerberus__…_

"My friend is currently reading it."

"Can we have it after she's done with it then?"

"Why? Interested in dangerous magical creatures? Looking for a giant dog for a pet? Or maybe a firebreathing dragon?"

_Gosh… it was so easy to get under his skin. _Julian's face had become slightly panicked.

"N-NO! I mean_… _yeah, I am interested in dangerous magical creatures."

Hadrian could see Granger facepalming behind him. They really had sent the wrong person to come to talk with them. Seeing through Julian was as clear as seeing through glass.

"If you say so_…_ we will put it back on the shelf when Tracey is done with it."

Julian just nodded at them and left in a hurry. Tracey looked extremely confused after that conversation.

"What was that about?"

Hadrian could only chuckle at her.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

* * *

When they got back to the Slytherin dormitories, Crabbe, Goyle, Zabini, Nott, Parkinson and Bulstrode were crowded around Malfoy.

"It was ridiculous! I caught them smuggling a dragon egg outside of the castle! They should have been expelled for doing such an act punishable by a sentence to Azkaban by the Ministry! I already told father about this of course… it's such blatant favoritism for the boy-who-lived…"

Draco paused to look at Daphne, who had entered the room with Tracey, Hadrian, and Antoninus. Malfoy's eyes narrowed and his lips thinned a bit. However, he didn't do anything and returned to his conversation with the people around him. The four of them then found a spot near the edge of the common room, near the walls.

"Are you two both still going to Gringotts later next month?"

"Yes, Antoninus and I managed to confirm it with the Headmaster last week. Professor McGonagall will be escorting the two of us there and back."

"Are you certain you don't want my mother to come to escort you instead? I know you are not so fond of Dumbledore. My mother can help you deny any information that Dumbledore might learn."

Hadrian just shook his head.

"I appreciate the offer Daphne, but it has already been done... and besides, once we are inside, the goblins will set up a private room that they won't let McGonagall enter. The only thing she can tell Dumbledore will be how long we spent inside the bank."

Daphne nodded and didn't ask much more about that topic.

"Have you done the potions essay on the Wiggenweld Potion?"

This caused both Hadrian and Antoninus to snap their necks towards her.

"Oh my… is Daphne Greengrass asking for help?"

Tracey snickered as Daphne struggled not to look embarrassed. To her credit, she hid it well, it was just that she was an open book to Hadrian, Antoninus, and Tracey. Hadrian and Antoninus being incredibly perceptive of her behavior and Tracey who was her close friend and knew her well.

"I've finished as well, I… just wanted to compare our essays and check if I made any errors."

"If you say so."

Hadrian then took out the potions' essay that was folded and placed within his potions journal.

"Potter, Black."

Hadrian and Antoninus both turned to see Diana Wilkinson, and what must be the other current Serpents of Slytherin behind her, approach them. She had platinum blonde hair and a very curvaceous figure from what the two boys could tell. Antoninus personally thought her robes didn't do justice to her body. _Her breasts were what… D cup? What was it again in that magazine they found from one of the older boy's drawers in the Orphanage? It had something to do with the circumference and volume of breast size or something…_ Antoninus wasn't actually thinking about sex or any of that. After all, boy boys even haven't developed those hormones yet. He was just simply analyzing her figure from a mathematical and proportional standpoint.

Tracey looked up at the girl whilst Daphne's emotionless mask locked firmly in place. Both girls becoming slightly tense at the presence of her.

"Ms. Wilkinson, to what do we owe the pleasure."

Hadrian and Antoninus both effortlessly slipped into an aristocratic pureblood persona. Each standing up, taking the hand offered by Wilkinson, and kissing it gently. A look of approval went across Wilkinson's face.

"I would like to congratulate both you and Black on the Quidditch Game against Ravenclaw the other day. A very impressive clean sweep, 390 - 0. Marcus here has been talking very highly of both you and Black's flying skills and our chance to secure the Inter-House Quidditch Cup again this year."

Hadrian and Antoninus both nodded at their Quidditch captain.

"Thank you for your words of praise, Ms. Wilkinson. However, I sincerely doubt you came over here to just congratulate us. Shall we go to a more private venue for further discussions?"

Hadrian's response made the corner of Wilkinson's lips twitch up slightly, it almost curved into a smile.

"Please… follow me."

Hadrian told Daphne to hang onto his potions essay for now as he and Antoninus had left with Wilkinson and the other Serpents of Slytherin. Daphne had given him a look of be careful before they left. Hadrian and Antoninus then realized that they were heading for the central area of the common room, near the fireplace. They approached the table that was strictly reserved for Wilkinson and her inner circle.

Hadrian recognized how powerful this position in the common room was. The three suits of armor lined up against the nearby pillars made it intimating to approach. It was far from the entrance but in viewing distance. You could monitor who came in and out without being noticed. The large open floor space near to the where the table was placed is where Professor Snape had gathered Slytherin house to make announcements. This also gave her easy access to step into this space and gather the house to make any announcements.

Wilkinson and her members then sat down around the circular table, she then flicked her wand out of her holster and wordlessly conjured out an additional two chairs. There was a large enough gap for Hadrian and Antoninus to sit, slightly squished, but good enough. _The table was after all meant for seven people… and one additional guest need be_

"Please, sit."

Hadrian and Antoninus now both seated themselves at the table. Hadrian noticed Malfoy's outraged and jealous expression from the corner of his eye. Hadrian then noticed that there was a stone snake carving wrapped around the edge of the round table. He couldn't find the head, but he had no doubt it was at Wilkinson's spot. It must be symbolic for Head Serpent for the Serpents of Slytherin.

"Welcome Potter, Black, to the Seats of the Seven Serpents."

Wilkinson paused to analyze their expressions. Hadrian and Antoninus showed nothing but a calm and respectful persona. Wilkinson was intrigued even more by the two boys and waved her wand and suddenly everyone else's sounds in the common room started to fade before they became but a mere buzzing. Hadrian and Antoninus made quick eye contact for a second. _A privacy charm to prevent others from listening of sort… very useful spell to learn…_

"As you alluded to earlier Potter, I did have something else that I wish to discuss with you both… Now, what can you tell me of the name… Fluffy?"

Hadrian and Antoninus' hearts stopped beating for a second. Fortunately, due to their Occlumency, their expressions of calm and respectful hadn't moved an inch.

"Interesting… and what do we gain from sharing this information with you?"

Wilkinson then kept eye contact with Hadrian for a long time, neither willing to back down. Eventually, Wilkinson caved.

"You really are just as sharp as Marcus has said… very well… in return, I offer you a chance at both seats at this table next year when Adrian and Miles have graduated."

Antoninus then narrowed his eyes and spoke up.

"A trade of this magnitude? Why offer it to us first-years?"

Wilkinson now smiled for the first time.

"You sell the two of you short Black, the two of you have shown an incredible display of magical abilities in the past. The demonstration you two did against the Malfoy boy was enough to show both of your talents. And if you have this much knowledge for first-years, I know that the two of you have ambitions to become Serpents. That much I can discern from the few glances you gave at the seats here and the central area of the Slytherin table in the great hall."

Hadrian and Antoninus continued to show their relaxed expressions. _On this inside, both boys screamed 'FUCK'. How in Morgana's name did she find out? They were literally as she said, glances._ Antoninus however, didn't stop and answered Wilkinson's question smoothly.

"Perhaps… but joining you now would make us targets to your enemies no? They will see us as the weak link and… especially the older students would group up to come and get us. The competition for such a position is quite ferocious after all…"

Wilkinson let out a hearty laugh at Antoninus' response. This caused the other six members to simply smile at the two of them as well.

"You two both really are true Slytherins, nothing like the Malfoy Scion. We will offer… a few spells in return to aid you in your defense, should you be ambushed."

Both boys made eye contact and communicated silently again.

_She is offering a lot… _

_Yes… but what are her true motives?_

_We don't lose out on anything… if anything, she has more to lose… _

_This was so sudden and abrupt… there is also only two more months left in the term… why now?_

_We already have the stone, it doesn't matter if we tell them… _

_As long as we keep suspicion off us? We should diverge the alternated story we gave Tracey and Daphne._

_I agree… _

After a few seconds, both boys looked back at Wilkinson and the rest of the table.

"Very well, we accept. Antoninus, if you would please?"

The response caused a shift with everyone at the table. A few sat up straighter whilst Wilkinson looked pleased.

"Fluffy is a Cerberus, hidden behind the locked door in the out of bounds third floor corridor."

A few members at the table nearly fell out of their chairs at the information.

"Adrian! Miles! Control yourself!"

Wilkinson now had a deadly glint in her eyes. Her expression had hardened slightly.

"How did you come to know of this?"

"Hadrian and I overheard Hermione Granger in the library. Whilst she was talking to Julian Potter and his two friends, she mentioned a dog called Fluffy. Hadrian and I had opened the locked door at the end of the corridor during November last term. We saw it with our own eyes… and quickly shut the door and left before we got caught. It was definitely a Cerberus."

This caused a murmur of discussion at the table.

"Cerberus? Must be another pet of that big oaf!"

"This just confirms our suspicions…"

"Imagine if parents found out what was near their children at school…"

"Hogwarts would be closed and students will be forced to leave…"

Hadrian and Antoninus listened to the discussion. All the people brought up good points, a few of which the two of them hadn't considered either. Wilkinson then raised her hand for silence.

"You have all brought up valid points. Potter, Black, thank you for your information. I will arrange for Adrian to teach you the few spells that I had promised."

The blonde guy then grunted slightly at Wilkinson's order.

"And one last thing… please, call me Diana."

Hadrian and Antoninus couldn't help but raise their eyebrows slightly at being allowed such familiarity with the Head of the Serpents. Even some members amongst the table looked at her with questionable expressions.

"Very well, if you call me Hadrian."

"And I, Antoninus."

Diana smiled at them and then whisked her wand in an arc. The sound of everyone else's voices in the common room coming back into full volume.

"Of course, Hadrian, Antoninus, I will send for you if need be."

Hadrian and Antoninus both took that as their cue to leave. They stood up and nodded at Diana. Their chairs vanished as they left. Diana then reinstated the privacy charm.

"Why did you let them called you by your first name? I kind of came around to the idea of you letting first-years have a go at the seats at the table… but letting them be that familiar with you-"

"Come now, Adrian… you are just not happy to be teaching them spells. Besides, can't you see that the two of them are powerful and perceptive?"

"I can see that Flora! But they are still first-years! To be given such an opportunity at a seat this quickly…

"Then maybe once you perform wandless magic we will have a different opinion hmmm?"

"That can just be accidental magic! Potter was angry at the injury of his friend Black! His intent was there!"

Diana just merely smirked at the bickering amongst the Serpents.

"Adrian… that was no accidental magic, I can assure you of that. Just look at the state of mind they were in when they were faced with a full table of 5th to 7th year Slytherins. They were calm and collected, they didn't show a single slip up or signs of panic… just like when they were in that fight. Hadrian had even listened to Marcus' advice and dropped Malfoy down from the ceiling. Also… to draw their wand through the sleeves of their robes like that without a wrist holster requires precision and focus. If it were accidental magic, the wand would have torn a hole in his robe and shot to his hand. Instead, it smoothly snaked across his arm, through his sleeve, and into his hand. It was no accident."

Diana's statement then squashed all debate on this matter.

"I have also offered them seats as they revealed their interest and knowledge in the Serpent of Slytherin. For first years that weren't raised in the wizarding world to be that knowledgeable of Slytherin Houses' rules, that is impressive."

"You mean that was a bluff? Seeing their glances?"

Miles had asked the question on everyone else's minds.

"Yes and no… I did notice them glancing once or twice, but it was, only a glance. I, however, determined they might have learned of it through Greengrass. Their association with her would easily provide them which such knowledge on this. It wouldn't be long when they got curious and began to investigate things further. Also, their awareness of our customs and the instant respect they showed towards us was indicative of that much."

Everyone around the table nodded their heads.

"Keep an eye on them, Hadrian Potter and Antoninus Black are far too interesting to not investigate any further…"


	11. Chapter 11: The Unexpected Revelation P1

**Chapter 11: The Unexpected Revelation (PART 1)**

Julian was in shock, the man that was drinking unicorn blood had almost killed him! Fortunately, a centaur came and saved him. _I should have brought the cloak with me!_

"Julian!"

Julian turned around after hearing Ron yell his name in the distance. Hagrid, Ron, Seamus, Hermione and Malfoy had come over to get him. Malfoy had run off earlier after seeing the man, leaving Julian alone. _Some definition! I nearly died! Also… why did my scar hurt earlier…_

"Jullian, yer alright?"

"I'm fine Hagrid. Glad that Firenze here made it in time… or else I might be dead."

The centaur studied Julian for a bit before responding.

"The stars have told me that it is not your time to go yet, Julian Potter. You should be getting back to the castle. The dark forest is forbidden for students for a reason."

All the kids nodded their heads at the centaur.

"Right, best be gettin yer all back to the castle."

Hagrid then took the lot of them back towards his hut.

* * *

Adrian had been hard pressed. _Diana was right! These two are insane!_ The chance he got to teach them a few spells had been humbling for Adrian. A short while after he taught the spells Reducto, Bombarda, Incacarsus, Incendio, and Confringo. Potter and Black had mastered them all and could non-verbally cast them in the span of three days! _Also… when did these two scrawny kids learn how to deflect and shield so well against spells!_ He had been sparring against Black for the past half an hour. He almost was willing to cast Confractus, the bone-breaker spell, at them as he was confident they could block an avoid them. Adrian managed to exploit an opening by Black and forced Black on the defensive. Black expertly batted away all his spells and dodged what he could with precision and grace. _He looked like a fencer… with his minimal but accurate movements… _Adrian decided that he needed to catch him off guard to win.

"Confractus."

He whispered it quietly enough that Antoninus couldn't hear it. The blood-red colored spell flew straight at Antoninus and him in the head. _Adrian was briefly shocked that the spell had hit. That is… how? Black had been moving so nimbly… it was outside of expectations that the spell would- _Adrian mind stopped thinking when he saw that the spell had hit the wall behind Black's body. Antoninus' body then dissolved into black smoke. _A shadow clone! The spell went through! How does he know of such-_ SMACK! Adrian's world went black as he fell face first into the floor as he was stunned from behind.

"So… what did you think Hadrian? Like the trick?"

"You didn't have to use that to win…now he will tell Diana about it."

"You know this would only help us in the future with the Serpents of Slytherin position. People knowing what I have won't matter as you will be an unknown. Well, he knows of your green fire, but that was a surprise for us three, so not much can be done about that. This will also give you an edge as if people can't see themselves beating me, they won't be able to beat you."

"Still… word might get around of your ability… it is a good ability, even if it is just as much as an illusionary trick, to keep as an advantage over your enemies."

"I guess… but I have other talents that I keep for an additional ace up the sleeve."

Antoninus then tapped near his left eye.

"I'll wake him up now, he's been out long enough."

Antoninus waved his wand and cast Enervate at Adrian. Adrian woke up and quickly got to his feet after he rolled over and saw the ceiling.

"That will be all for today. There also won't be any sessions after this. Both of you have already mastered all the spells that I taught you since our previous session three days ago."

The two boys nodded and followed Adrian back to the Slytherin Common Room. Adrian really wanted to tell Diana what he had seen of their abilities. It was jaw-dropping, to say the least. He had dueled them both. Potter had beaten him whilst he held back, not using any of the more vicious spells he knew. However, just when he started to strike out against Black, he had been instantly taken down by him when he got fooled by the shadow clone. Hadrian and Antoninus walked behind Adrian quietly, they had learned a lot from him. Even the bone-breaker that he let out near the end of the duel. _Confractus… that could be very useful_. On the way back, the group then bumped into Julian and his crew… along with Malfoy.

"Harry!"

"Who is that?"

"What do you mean?"

"Who's Harry?"

Julian's face frowned as he scrunched up his hands.

"Fine! Hadrian! It's past curfew! Why are you out here?"

"I can ask the same of you. Besides… can't you see I am with a Prefect?"

Hadrian then pointed at Adrian's prefect badge.

"I'll explain for you Potter, I and other Potter and his buffoons were serving detention in the dark forest with that oaf."

"His name is Hagrid, Malfoy!"

The Weasley had rushed next to him and went up in his face.

"Cut it out! What happened Malfoy. Why did you have detention in the dark forest."

Adrian separated Weasley from Malfoy. However, he shoved Ron more than he thought and Ron went tumbling onto the floor.

"Hey!"

Julian took out his wand to cast a spell when he was disarmed by Antoninus in a second. Granger and another boy tried as well and were disarmed by Hadrian.

"Come on now… it was an accident, there is no need to shoot spells at one another because of this is there?"

"GIVE ME BACK MY WAND!"

Julian had rushed towards Antoninus to try and grab his wand out of his hand. Antoninus then sighed. He then lazily sent a Stupefy and knocked out Julian.

"So much for the boy-who-lived."

Even Adrian couldn't help a smirk coming on to his face. Malfoy howled out with laughter at Julian's unconscious body on the floor, which was bent in weird angles. Malfoy was jealous and didn't like Hadrian, but he disliked Julian a lot more. Ron then stood up with his wand out.

"You will pay for that! Eat slugs!"

Ron then sent the curse at Antoninus, who deflected it. The curse then went back and hit Ron after he unintentionally deflected it towards him. Ron hadn't stood that far away either from Antoninus. In fact, some would think it looked intentional based on how the spell ricocheted off the shield and went back at Ron. Hadrian and Adrian watched in asumment, whilst Granger and the other boy watched in horror.

"UURRRRRGGGGHHHHH"

Ron that sat up and vomited out a slug. _Gotta admit… that is nasty._

"What is going on here?"

Hadrian, Antoninus, Adrian, Hermione and Seamus turned to see Professor Snape walking towards them. Snape looked dismissively at the Gryffindors before he turned to see Ron vomiting slugs and Julian unconscious on the floor. Hadrian swear he saw a slight smile at seeing his brother sprawled out on the floor.

"Mr. Pucey, what happened."

"Sir, I was escorting Potter and Black back from the Astronomy tower. They had lost track of time when stargazing. We were on our way back when we met the four Gryffindors and Malfoy. They had just come back from the their detention in the dark forest. That was when Weasley and the other Potter tried to attack us."

"That's not true! You shoved him to the-"

"Mr. Finnigan, did you or any of your… friends… attempt to start a fight?"

"UUUUURRRRGGGHHH!"

Snape ignored the slug-vomiting Ron.

"No! It was Black! He shot a spell at Julian and took his wand! He then took ours too! If he didn't cast those spells we wouldn't have fought! He also cursed Ron!"

Snape then turned to Antoninus.

"Sir. I cast the disarming charm on the other Potter because he pulled his wand out to try hex a Prefect, I only wished to prevent unneeded spellfire in the corridor at this hour."

Antoninus then gestured to Adrian.

"When his friends, Granger and Finnigan didn't like that I only just disarmed him to defuse the fight. They pulled their wands out to hex me too, so Hadrian disarmed them as well. And as for Weasley… he brought that upon himself when he sent a curse at me and I accidentally deflected it straight back at him."

"What! That's not true! You-"

"Ms. Granger Did Julian Potter take out his wand to attempt to start a fight?"

"No Sir, I am sure he wouldn't-"

"Did Julian Potter take his wand out first?"

Silence.

"I guess that answers my question. 40 points from Gryffindor for attempting to curse a Prefect… and 20 points to Slytherin for handling the situation properly-"

"THIS IS PROPER?!"

"Another 10 points from Gryffindor for yelling at a teacher. And yes… Mr. Finnigan. They did not harm any of you did they? Julian Potter is just asleep on the floor, whereas, Mr. Weasley attempted to curse another student. Get them to the hospital wing and out of my sight before I deduct more points from Gryffindor."

That had shut Seamus up. Gryffindor house was already negative in the House points tracker in the great hall. They had lost Gryffindor 320 points from being caught by Malfoy, whereas Slytherin only lost 40 points. Half of which just got earned back by Black. Seamus grounded his teeth and went to pick up Julian, whilst Hermione went to help Ron. Hadrian and Antoninus then gave them back their wands. The four of them left with a slug trail after Weasley. Snape then turned to glare at both Hadrian and Antoninus.

"Get them back to the common room Mr. Pucey, and don't let me catch them out here again."

Snape then turned and walked off, his robes billowing behind him. The four boys then walked back towards the Slytherin Common Rooms. None of them saying a word to one another.

* * *

Ever since the incident with Snape, the boys had been more careful around making their way around the castle at night. They usually would be practicing the spells they learned from Adrian in the Room of Requirement. Two weeks had passed. Hadrian and Antoninus had worked hard on Quidditch and dueling. They had their final game against Hufflepuff a week after their appointment with the goblins at Gringotts.

"WHEN DID YOU GUYS FIND THE KITCHENS!"

Tracey had hollered this out at the two boys whilst they ate.

"A while back… what was it? Just after Hallow's End?"

Tracey stared at the wide-eyed. Daphne seemed impressed at the discovery of the kitchen as well. They had come into the kitchens after being targeted by the Weasley twins and another few Gryffindors all day. Antoninus had warned Hadrian that his drink and food was spiked, so they came to the kitchens to get food instead.

"Awesome…"

Tracey just let her eyes explore the place.

"Hadrian, Antoninus, what did Wilkinson want with the two of you the other day. You sat with her quite long at the table."

'The table' that Daphne mentioned was obviously the Seats of the Seven Serpents.

Hadrian gave Antoninus a look before replying to Daphne.

"She wanted information on what we discussed in library… in return, she would give us a consider us as candidates for the Seats next."

Daphne had lost complete control of her usual emotionless mask. Her eyes nearly popped out as she looked flabbergasted. Tracey had started laugh at her as her expression was so unusual and funny.

"She offered you two to…? First-years? That is strange… even if she may have saw through you quickdraw trick…"

Both boys raised their eyebrows at the mention of their quickdraw. _So Daphne had noticed huh? If she did, then Diana must have easily._

"Yes… it is quite unconventional so to speak. We did question Diana about it, but she was quite unusually complementary of our skills… no doubt she also came to the conclusion about Antoninus and I's quickdraw… just as you have."

Daphne's jaw now hung down onto the floor. _D-Diana? They are on a first name basis?_ She had trouble wrapping around the familiarity and their admission at their wandless magic quickdraw.

"But yes… we haven't worked out her true motives in supporting us for a position on the Seats. She may just want to build a connection and do us a favor, and then cash it in later…"

"What! That's-"

Antoninus then quickly cut off Tracey.

"That's what Tracey? Seeking us out to get a few favors that are beneficial to her later? We are fully aware of how we might be of use to her down the line. What is wrong with that? Don't pretend that you and Daphne didn't come back to us because you witnessed a further demonstration of our strength. You sought us out as a shield against the Malfoy ponce and his group.."

Tracey then reddened in embarrassment at the blunt statement.

"There isn't anything wrong with it. People seek each other out based on what they have, it is up to them if the relationship remains after the business has been concluded. Business is just business, nothing personal."

Daphne nodded at Antoninus. Being raised in a pureblood family, Daphne witnessed her father and mother do this many times. Business was business, anything regarding business isn't personal, what came after that was.

"Master Black, here be your steak you asked."

"Thank you Tipsy."

The house elf then left after giving Antoninus his steak.

"I wonder… for such a strong magical place like Hogwarts… are the elves bound to the castle? Or the Headmaster?"

"Probably the castle Daphne. They are probably just under oath to obey the Headmaster."

"Hmmm… makes sense. I wonder what the elves may know. They have been here at Hogwarts for a long time…"

A light bulb then went on inside Hadrian's head. _Of course! The elves! How did I miss that? I could ask them for secret rooms or lost treasures in the castle! Maybe they might know something about what Pistis hinted at me. The unleashing of whatever. Better ask them later..._

After Antoninus finished his steak, the four of them left for transfiguration class. The usual then happened. Hadrian got the task first and transformed his mice into a snuff box. Antoninus got it straight after him. This then resulted in some glares from Granger as McGonagall awarded them points. _Typical… always can rely on Granger to get mad for not being the first to figure things out._ They then had charms afterwords, followed by potions. After class, it was time for dinner. Instead of going to the great hall, Hadrian and Antoninus left with Daphne and Tracey towards the kitchens. They had some questions for the house elves there.

"How in Morgana's name do you know of all these rooms and secret passageways? What-"

They were about to emerge from one of the secret passages when they heard someone on the other side of the enclosed wall. Hadrian and Antoninus both stilled and turned cold.

"When master? When will we go steal it?"

"Soon…"

There was a noticeable silence. Daphne and Tracey both looked nervous at how still Hadrian and Antoninus were. They then slowly backed away. Hadrian and Antoninus didn't even dare to breathe.

"Someone's watching! YOU FOOL! OVER THERE IN THE WALL! THEY HEARD! SILENCE THEM OR THE STONE IS LOST!"

Quirrel then strode over towards the stone statue near the wall and pulled the spear down, as it was the lever to open the secret passageway, and took out his wand.

"FUCK! RUN!"

Antoninus instantly barked out the order and the four of them started to run as the secret passageway was opened from the other side. Daphne and Tracey didn't dare slow down as Hadrian and Antoninus fled without a thought. If something caused such a reaction from them, she really didn't want to know what it was. The ran down the dimly lit passageway and were about to turn a corner.

"Wasn't that-"

Just as they turned the corner, Tracey peeked around, only to see a sickly green light come straight at her.


	12. Chapter 12: The Unexpected Revelation P2

**Chapter 12: The Unexpected Revelation (PART 2)**

The sickly green light shot straight at Tracey. Tracey's feat then turned to jelly as the spell came towards her. Her eyes widened in fear at the incoming green spell. At the last second, her body was then lurched out of the way by an invisible force. The spell flew past her and hit the wall behind her as Tracey then found herself on the stone floor around the corner. The curse left a black mark in the wall. _Pro-professor Quirrell? But tha- tha- that was… but that was the kill-_

"MOVE! HE IS CATCHING UP!"

Antoninus' voice woke her out of her trembling fear. She gathered what courage and energy to stand and start running. Tracey started to cry, not believing how close to death she was there. _What the fuck? Isn't Hogwarts the safest place in Britain? What utter bull. Why is a teacher trying to murder us?_ She ran as fast as she could with the muddled thoughts in her head.

"CRUCIO!"

"GET DOWN!"

Tracey didn't get down in time and was struck by the dark and menacing blackish-red light. Her screams echoed across the secret passageways as she withered around on the floor in agony.

"TRACEY!"

Daphne screamed as her childhood friend twisted and turned on the floor in pain. Hadrian flipped around on the floor and shot a Bombarda at the ceiling to collapse the tunnel. Antoninus then cast a couple of bone-breakers at Quirrell as well.

Quirrell saw the ceiling break as well as the incoming blood red lights. He broke the connection he had on the cruciatus curse to block the bone-breakers first. He then concentrated and caught the debris from the ceiling and held it in place, before raising it back up to fix it.

"_GET POTTER AND BLACK FIRST!… the other two don't matter…" _

Whilst Quirrell had been holding up the ceiling and fixing it. Hadrian and Antoninus didn't even have time to think about who's bloody voice that was and got up off the floor quickly. They needed to take advantage of Quirrell holding up and fixing the ceiling. Hadrian pulled Daphne to her feet whilst Antoninus picked up Tracey, who had passed out and was constantly twitching after being exposed to the cruciatus.

"HURRY UP DAPHNE! MOVE! ANTONINUS HAS TRACEY! MOVE IT!"

Daphne was still in shock, she couldn't believe what had just happened. A teacher had just tried to kill them. Tracey's screams of pain still echoed in her mind. She just managed to register Hadrian's words and sprinted off next to him. Hadrian was now flinging every single spell he could think of behind him whilst running. A mixture of red fire and light shot out towards Quirrell.

Quirrell had figured out what Hadrian was trying to do with his spells. He would pull loose bricks and pieces from the wall to meet the spell early to prevent the same cave in that happened before. Antoninus was currently occupied with holding Tracey in his arms whilst sprinting down the tunnel. Antoninus was breathing hard, it was a workout holding onto the girl while trying to not get killed. Hadrian then snuck a look back after flinging another Confringo and didn't see anyone.

"LEFT!"

Antoninus' yell might have just saved Hadrian's life as they approached an intersection in the passageways. Two paths that went forward, one on the left and one on the right.

Hadrian turned back to look in front of him at Antoninus' yell. Quirrell whirled around the path from the right and shot the killing curse straight at him. Hadrian ducked and pulled Daphne down whilst hauling her over to the left tunnel as the killing curse went over their heads. _We are completely outmatched! This son of a bitch is just playing hide and seek with the killing curse at us! Who in Morgana's name is this person? He isn't the stumbling nitwit we had for DADA! _

They sprinted as fast as they could towards the end of the passageway. Hadrian knew they didn't have time to pull the lever and patiently wait for the bloody passage to open. He shot a Bombarda, followed by two Reducto's at the secret entrance and blew it apart. Rubble and dust went flying everywhere. He then turned around and lighted the entire path behind them on fire, firing Incendio in random patterns. The flames roared behind them as they left the secret passageway.

Hadrian, Antoninus, and Daphne emerged on the second floor, near the girl's bathroom that nobody ever went to. _Fucking great… where are fucking adults when you fucking need them!_

"THIS WAY! MAKE FOR THE GREAT HALL_… _GET DOWN!"

Hadrian did a forward roll on the ground before getting up continuing to run. Antoninus had flung Tracey and himself onto the floor before quickly using what strength he had to pull them both off the ground. Daphne, however, had injured her knee when she dived out of the way of the killing curse. She let out a moan of pain before her body got lurched back towards the secret passageway entrance.

"HADRIAN!"

Hadrian and Antoninus almost made it around the turn in the corridor when Daphne got caught by Quirrell. Quirrell emerged from the passageway, which was now clean off flames, as her body shot towards him. Quirrel then caught her and then tugged her by her hair as he poked his wand at her cheek.

"Drop your wands. I don't think you need me to tell you why."

There was now no stutter in Quirrell's voice. The bumbling fool in DADA had been replaced with a cold hardened man. Hadrian dropped his wand to the floor. Antoninus put Tracey down on the floor before letting his wand clatter against the ground as well. The knew that nobody would get to them in time and they couldn't outrun Quirrell.

They just had to come out of the passageway that led to a usually deserted area on the second floor with no portraits anywhere along the entire corridor. _Just absolutely fan-fucking-tastic! _

"_Hadrian Potter… Antoninus Black…"_

The mysterious voice echoed around the hallway. Hadrian and Antoninus then both widened their eyes when they realized the voice came from Quirrell's head. _Quirrell… he didn't say anything… it must be the other person… wait, is he on the back of his head?_

"_You both have potential… it is a shame that you stumbled across us…"_

"Us?"

Quirrell then gave a predatory smile at Hadrian's question. He then flung Daphne at the wall and shot a Stupefy, Incarcerous and a sticking charm at her. She then became unconscious as she was tied up and suspended on the wall. Both boys watched how fast Quirrell had shot all three spells. Soon after, Quirrel pointed his wand at his head, the turban unwrapped slowly around his head. He then turned around and both boys were disgusted and horrified by what they saw. _Who… who is that? _

Just when the other man on Quirrell's head was about to say something, a burst of fire appeared in front of the boys. Dumbledore then emerged with his wand drawn. Despite the boys not liking Dumbledore, they were glad he appeared.

"It was foolish of you to come here tonight Tom, the other professors are now on their way."

Hadrian and Antoninus watched as the distorted face narrowed its eyes at the old wizard. A loud crack was heard as Quirrell's bones being ground echoed across the corridor they stood in. Quirrell's body had now adjusted so that the distorted face was at the front.

"By that time I shall be gone… and you… shall be dead."

Both wizards then swished their wands in an arc as green and red lightning shot out and collided in the center. The collision of the spell in the center sent stray bolts of lightning going around it. A ball of energy had formed as the green and red spell struggled against one another.

Antoninus had seen earlier where these stray bolts of lightning were heading and quickly wandlessly summoned his wand to him and shielded Daphne on the wall. The lightning then bounced off of the shield. Hadrian saw what Antoninus did and also summoned his wand. He shot a quick Finite Incantatem to remove Daphne's bindings before casting Accio to pull her to them. Antoninus then caught Daphne as she flew towards them and laid her down next to Tracey.

The man the two boys now knew as Tom thinned his lips as Dumbledore was started winning the tug of war between them. His red light spell had slowly crawled its way towards Tom. The ball of energy was now only a few meters away, now almost inches.

Tom then collapsed the spell and grabbed the remains of the electric ball of energy and blew fire out of it. The room suddenly felt hotter as a giant fiery snake emerged. The surround pillars around the hall started to smother and melt slightly. Whilst Hadrian was shocked by the flames, he also felt a somewhat warm feeling in his body. It was like he was receptive to the burning flame. _What kind of fire is this! That is insanely more powerful than an Incendio or Confringo!_

Dumbledore had stared at the firey snake in awe. As the fiery snake opened its jaws and struck down, Dumbledore slashed his wand in the arc and cut the fiery snake in two. Dumbledore then took advantage of the distorted fiery snake image created by Tom and then condensed the flames before shooting them back at him. Tom quickly sliced his wand in a downward arc towards his right, dispersing the flames.

Dumbledore then used this opening provided by Tom and launched spell after spell with surprising speed and accuracy for a man of his age. He shot a flurry of spells in different patterns and formations, making it difficult for Tom to decide between dodging and counter-attacking or blocking the spell. Tom had been hard pressed, he was slowly being backed towards the secret passageway. After being on the defensive for some time, Tom finally found a barely noticeable opening in Dumbledore's ferocious offense and transfigured the carpet on the floor into a stone wall in time to block Dumbledore's volley of spells.

Dumbledore then paused as dust and smoke clouded Tom from view. The room then darkened, it was like the shadows were being pulled towards Tom. A dark and shadowy energy then shot out towards Dumbledore. Dumbledore reacted extremely quickly shielding himself to block the spell. The dark energy splattered against his shield continuously. Antoninus then watched in slight awe of the shadows. He could feel the dark and powerful spell. It was as if he had a connection to the shadows. Tom then started to reverse the channeling of the dark shadowy spell. He then condensed it into a ball in his hands.

"RRRAGGGHHH!"

In a rage of anger, Tom let the ball of dark energy he amassed explode, creating a shock wave that was sent out from him. Hadrian and Antoninus got flung off their feet and onto their backsides from the force. Hadrian looked around with a slight haze. His ears were ringing from his head's hard collision on the floor. _What… Bloody hell! What was that spell__… _

Both boys slowly recovered from their slight daze, they pulled themselves up from the ground. When they got back up the duel had ended. Tom or Quirrell's body laid dead on the floor and started to disintegrate. A shadowy spirit then rose from Quirrel's body and flew off and went through one of the walls. _He must have used too much power or couldn't handle the spell… _Dumbledore just stared at where the dark spirit had flown through.

"Albus, all the other teachers are watching the exits out of school as you asked, what-"

McGonagall paused as she saw the state of the corridor and Daphne and Tracey unconscious on the floor.

"Albus… what happened?"

Dumbledore then turned around from the wall he was still staring at to look at McGonagall.

"I will tell you later, first, let us get, Mr. Potter, Mr. Black, and the unconscious Ms. Greengrass and Davis to the hospital wing."


	13. Chapter 13: You know who

**Chapter 13: You Know Who**

Hadrian had been still reeling from the near-death experience as Dumbledore and McGonagall escorted him and Antoninus to the hospital wing. Hadrian still had trouble in wrapping his mind around what had just had happened.

_Tracey had passed out from torture from the cruciatus… Daphne nearly died when Dumbledore and Tom dueled… that duel… That wasn't even close to what a duel was described as or what Hadrian and Antoninus had experienced thus far. That duel between Dumbledore and Tom had been cataclysmic. It wasn't as fanciful as what the books in the library had said. There was no build up, no parlor tricks or dialogue exchanged with one another during the duel… it was sudden and fast… there was only power… and focus… whoever struck first would win… __The tempo of the fight had changed so many times, with Dumbledore redirecting the fire and going on the offensive and Tom finding an opening to launch that shadow magic at Dumbledore… if any of them let up for a second, they would have died… _

They burst through the hospital wing doors. Dumbledore then levitated Daphne and Tracey onto the beds.

"Oh my goodness, what happened Albus, you two boys as well, you are dirty and have scratches all over-"

"Please Madam Pomfrey, tend to the girls first… young Ms. Davis has been exposed to the Cruciatus."

Madam Pomfrey eyes widened at Dumbledore and bustled off quickly to her office to get a potion before coming back and start healing the girls. Antoninus lost it first and scathingly asked the Headmaster a question.

"Did you know?"

Dumbledore looked shocked for a moment, he then realized what Antoninus was alluding to.

"DID YOU KNOW!"

"Mr. Black, you will not speak to the Headmaster in that tone-"

"Yes, I did."

The shadows in the room darkened as Antoninus' hands balled into a fist.

"Why?"

McGonagall had no idea what they were talking about and was about to respond when Dumbledore shook his head at her.

"To trap him here."

Hadrian then glared daggers at Dumbledore.

"That is not your duty Headmaster… your duty is to the students of the school… the same students who almost died with killing curses sent at them by a teacher!"

Dumbledore had lost the twinkle in his eye some time ago when he fought Voldemort in the corridor, it hasn't come back since.

"It was all part of a ploy… the mirror and the."

Dumbledore then paused for a second, but Antoninus wasn't having it and finished his sentence for him.

"And the Philosopher's Stone."

Both McGonagall and Dumbledore looked at Antoninus with surprise.

"Please, Professor… you walked away that day after leaving us in Ollivanders. You wouldn't leave two students in your charge for some Hogwarts matter unless it was incredibly important. Also… did you really think we didn't see that grey pouch that somehow appeared around your waist when we came out from Gringotts?..."

McGonagall looked abashed by Antoninus' deductions while Dumbledore looked thoughtfully at him.

"We then overheard Granger and Julian Potter's lot in the library about Nicholas Flamel… and the stone… it wasn't hard to connect the dots from there to find out what was being guarded in the out of bounds third floor corridor."

Dumbledore's eyes then regained the twinkle. He was quite impressed at Antoninus' thoughtful deduction.

"So you used some mirror and the Philosopher's stone as what? Bait?"

Hadrian knew full well what mirror he used, but had to ask in a way to not draw suspicions. Dumbledore nodded at Hadrian's question.

"Yes. You see, the mirror that held the stone was the Mirror of Erised. It would cause one to see what they most desired… Voldemort-"

McGonagall flinched slightly whilst Hadrian and Antoninus looked astounded.

"YOU MEAN YOU KNOW WHO! HE WHO MUST NOT BE NAME! THE DARK LORD VOLDEMORT WAS THE MAN ON THE BACK OF QUIRRELL'S HEAD! YOU LET HIM INTO THIS SCHOOL?"

Hadrian couldn't help but yell at the Headmaster.

"He was supposed to be dealt with in a room with the mirror in it... I was certain that he would try earlier."

Antoninus couldn't take and it and immediately called Dumbledore out on his bullshit.

"Don't lie… Headmaster… you knew that Quirrell wouldn't go for the stone that early!"

Dumbledore had been surprised at being caught red-handed by the first-year, the last time someone caught him like that was his brother Aberforth… when Arianna had died… Antoninus' deadly quiet words had caused a chill to go down everyone's spine. The room seemed to suffocate even more as the shadows grew longer and the lights in the room dimed.

"Quirrell… or now that you know, Voldemort-"

"Didn't you call him Tom? Why Voldemort now?"

Dumbledore smiled slightly at the sarcastic tone of Antoninus.

"Tom Marvolo Riddle was Lord Voldemort's real name… that is a story for another time… but Voldemort was supposed to go for the stone sometime this school year. He was supposed to grow overconfident as the traps I laid out were quite simple…"

Both Hadrian and Antoninus barely managed to maintain their angry stares and not scoff at the Headmaster's remark. _The traps had truly been ridiculously easy._

"... he then should have been stuck in the last room, at the Mirror of Erised. The Mirror was supposed to keep Quirrell staring at it and thus trapping Voldemort their as Quirrell got lost in his desires..."

The shadows in the room lightened slightly. _It does make sense… Voldemort would never want the stone for any other reason than for himself. Despite that seemingly simple solution to getting the stone… it was one that Voldemort couldn't even fathom… _

"After Quirrell had been seduced by the contents of the Mirror, I was supposed to come in and capture the fleeing spirit. That was how Voldemort remained alive."

That was another hard pill for the boys to swallow without yelling and raging at the Headmaster. _Great… the dark tosser is actually not dead… that is just wonderful._ Hadrian now had calmed slightly more and managed to not shout at the Headmaster.

"Did you ever consider that if a student accidentally overheard Quirrell talking to himself, that they would be dead instantly! We were lucky that we had the tight corners of the small secret passageways to hide from the killing curse! We would have been butchered if we overheard him in the regular school corridor!"

Dumbledore's lost its twinkle again as he looked remorseful.

"How did you know of the secret passageways… not that I am not grateful you lived because of it."

Antoninus had been almost ready to erupt at Dumbledore before he added that bit in the end.

"Antoninus and I learned of it from the house elves in the kitchens…"

Dumbledore's eyebrows shot up immediately at the mention of the elves and the kitchen.

"Antoninus, Daphne, Tracey, and I were on our way back to the kitchens to ask for any other secret passageways when we heard Quirrell through the wall. He sensed that someone had overheard him. Then to our surprise, he knew of the passageway as well. When we heard him come close to the wall, we sprinted back the other way… Tracey wasn't as fast as us and got hit by the cruciatus curse. It was somewhat fortunate that Voldemort was switching up his spells at that time. If she had been hit with the killing curse…"

The whole room had gone deathly silent. Dumbledore didn't even want to think about the repercussions of a student dying during his tenure as Headmaster. That would have been absolutely disastrous. People like Lucius Malfoy would have him gone and voted out by the Hogwarts Board of Governors.

"Antoninus then carried Tracey from there as she passed out from the cruciatus, I shot a blasting curse behind me to try and bring the tunnel down on top of Voldemort."

McGonagall's eyebrows shot up at the mention of the blasting curse.

"You know how to cast Bombarda Mr. Potter?"

"Yes Professor McGonagall… I was lucky that I knew. Cause that provided us enough time to get Tracey up and shake Daphne out of her fear and put some distance between us and Voldemort."

McGonagall's eyes then became sullen, saddened that students this year had to face what they did.

"I continued to cast Bombarda behind me as we ran, but Voldemort realized what I was doing. He flicked bricks and other loses stone pieces from the wall, maybe even conjured some, to intercept my spells. He didn't want a repeat of before, where he forced to hold up and fix the ceiling. This was in fact very fortunate for us as he stopped shooting the killing curse at us to stop my spells from making the tunnel collapse."

Both Dumbledore and McGonagall nodded in approval, very impressed at Hadrian's quick thinking.

"We barely managed to get out of the secret passages. Unfortunately, we came out on the second floor, near the girl's bathroom. There was nobody in sight, and not a single portrait on the walls."

"You… you know of the portraits?"

Hadrian rolled his eyes.

"Headmaster. The portraits can shift and leave to other portraits… if they saw a madman trying to kill us they would tell somebody. It would have gotten us some help or another professor who wasn't going to kill us… anyway… Daphne got caught and bound to the wall as you saw… then... you know the rest from there."

Hadrian had skipped out quite a few things, such as the fire spells he cast and the bone-breakers by Antoninus. He wasn't going to let the Headmaster how far ahead they were. Dumbledore sat there and was lost in thought for a long time. McGonagall looked like someone had just killed her cat.

"Both of you have done well… I dare say that Ms. Greengrass and Ms. Davis would be dead now without the two of you. I am afraid that I nearly caused Ms. Greengrass' death during my duel with Voldemort."

Hadrian then realized this was an opportunity to learn what happened in their duel, and what spells they cast.

"Headmaster… the spell that Voldemort cast to create that fiery snake… what was that? That wasn't normal fire… the stone pillars nearly melted down near it."

Dumbledore debated whether or not he should tell an eleven-year-old about Fiendfyre. In the end, he thought that Hadrian had proved himself enough to learn of this knowledge.

"That was Fiendfyre Hadrian. It is cursed fired, very powerful, but near impossible to control. The fire takes on many forms and is unpredictable."

"What about that shadow spell near the end? I had never read or even heard anything that was like that."

Hadrian had a feeling Antoninus would ask about that. _He should have probably worded his question better… _

"That was Umbra Cantariarum Mr. Black, a very deadly shadow spell. It is a spell designed for shredding the flesh and bone."

Antonius and Hadrian normally wouldn't be that disgusted, but in order to learn more, they were going to have to act the part. Both boys then reeled back in disgust. This seemed to satisfy Dumbledore enough for him to continue.

"It also can be, in the hands of one talented and skillful enough, reversed and channeled into a force bomb, as you both experienced while being knocked back. It, however, seemed that Professor Quirrell, Voldemort's host, couldn't handle the power of the spell, and his body broke down."

Both boys nodded at the Headmaster. They both glanced at each other quickly and silently signaled to each other they were happy with the information they got. Dumbledore then looked over at the two girls who laid unconcious on the hospital beds.

"Now it is getting late… why don't both of you boys stay in the hospital wing too? You seemed to sustain a few injuries as well."

Both boys nodded and picked a bed each. Dumbledore and McGonagall then left shortly after.

"Alright, Mr. Potter what happened to you?"

Hadrian just blinked at Madam Pomfrey. Had she not been listening?

"I am sorry Madam Pomfrey, didn't you hear?"

"Hear what Mr. Potter? There was no sound coming out around you, Mr. Black, the Headmaster, and the Deputy Headmistress. Now hurry up, I am no mind reader."

After Hadrian and Antoninus told Madam Pomfrey what his injuries were, he and Antoninus got changed and laid down on the bed. Hadrian's thoughts jumped all over the place. The day had gone from mundane to almost dying way too quickly. His last thought before falling asleep was that he really needed to learn that privacy charm.


	14. Chapter 14: Return to Gringotts

**Chapter 14: Return to Gringotts**

When Hadrian and Antoninus returned to the common room next morning, all eyes had turned to them. Daphne and Tracey were still in the hospital wing. Hadrian and Antoninus had already told Daphne of what they were going to tell. She had agreed with their, well Dumbledore's, plan about giving this version of events. If word got out that Voldemort was alive, all the death eaters would go flocking back to him.

"Hadrian… Antoninus…"

What easily could have been mistaken as a seductive tone sent shivers down the boy's spine. Diana's tone was no way seductive, it was laced with menace and a demand for answers.

"Diana. I see you are doing well. I trust you have gathered everyone here so that I can relay the events of yesterday night?"

Diana gave him a smile. Hadrian however really didn't feel like smiling back. Despite it being a beautiful smile, it gave him goosebumps in the wrong way.

"Yes, I see I can always count on you to be perceptive as some others… cannot."

Her slight glance at Miles Bletchley told Hadrian everything. She wasn't annoyed at him, just at another Serpent. Hadrian could let out a sigh at this moment for not being under the fire of Diana. She had given him the impression of a juggernaut in terms of power and standing. A strong and powerful witch, but also manipulative and had good connections. You really didn't want her on your bad side. Diana then stood up and shot green sparks into the air.

"Slytherin House meeting March 31st, 1992 called into session by the Head of the Seven Serpents, Diana Wilkinson."

The effect was instantaneous. Everyone instantly sat up straighter and looked at the central circular open area where Diana stood alone.

"Hadrian Fleamont Potter…"

Hadrian's moment blanked for a second. _My middle name is Fleamont? Wait… how did Diana know my middle name when I didn't even know._

"... come forth and inform the house of the events that transpired yesterday night."

Hadrian then entered the edge of the open circle space that Diana stood in. He didn't know if he should, but he bowed at her anyway. He had never gotten to asking around to the specific etiquette requirements for Serpents when talking to Pistis about the Serpents of Slytherin. However, it seemed to be the right thing to do as many in the house nodded in approval at his bow. It also helped that after Hadrian bowed, Diana didn't give him a murderous glare, instead, giving him the weird goosebump feeling smile again.

Hadrian then told them what happened and how Quirrell had tried to murder him, Antoninus, Daphne, and Tracey. He left out that he was Voldemort. If the Slytherins found out, all hell could break loose. Hogwarts would turn into a battlefield with lines being drawn in the sand. He also danced around the secret passageways and Voldemort and Dumbledore's duel. He had replaced the secret passageways with the out of bounds thrid floor corridor, which everone bought easily.

"LIAR! HOW COULD SOME FIRST YEAR-"

The random person who yelled this out in the crowd was instantly shot down by a spell sent by Diana. Everyone looked at the guy who had been struck. He now lay on the floor panting and taking in large breaths of air. Hadrian just shook his head at the guy who yelled that out. _Please… even Malfoy knew to keep his mouth shut_…

"Do be quiet, this isn't a meeting where your opinion matters Mr…."

Flora Carrow then walked up and whispered something in Diana's ear.

"Mr. Lloyd… You shall remain silent unless called upon. If not, you will see how much further I can contract your lungs."

Everyone in the room shivered slightly from her statement. Hadrian's intuition had been right. He'd better not cross Diana Wilkinson. Diana then continued on as if nothing had happened.

"I see, how are the other two members of our house, Greengrass and Davis."

"Greengrass will be released tomorrow from the hospital wing, Davis… might take a bit longer. The extent of her injury was unclear."

Many murmurs and whispers went around the room. Many of these included the term cruciatus. Diana then sent green sparks around the room and every quieted down.

"Very well, Hadrian Potter, thank you for your report."

Hadrian took that as his cue to be dismissed. He bowed slightly again, not as deep as before, before exiting the circle. He then stood back next to Antoninus who gave him a nod.

Diana then brought up several other issues. Mostly tackling the issue of their now dead DADA teacher. She discussed a setup of tutoring and sessions for upcoming OWLs and NEWTs for 5th and 7th years for DADA, since Quirrell had been useless the entire year anyway. She also reserved certain spaces in the Slytherin Common room for those with upcoming exams. After that, she called the meeting to an end, and everyone dispersed.

"Hadrian, Antoninus, come with me… now."

Hadrian and Antoninus raised an eyebrow at one another before following after the Head Serpent. They arrived at the Seats of the Seven Serpents, just the three of them. The others had left already after the meeting. They then felt everyone's voices go away and turn into a small buzzing sound.

"So Hadrian, or maybe Antoninus, is there anything… you wish to tell me?"

Hadrian and Antoninus were slightly confused by the question.

"I am sorry Diana, but you will have to be more specific."

Diana's mood now shifted in an instant.

"Now, I will give you one chance, and one chance only Hadrian… Who is Professor Quirrell… my mistake, let me reword that, who is Professor Quirrel really?"

Instantly the atmosphere became tense. Hadrian and Antoninus instantly became itchy for their wands. Hadrian faltered slightly before composing himself. He knew there was no point playing dumb, she knew he didn't tell the full truth somehow. _Who or what was here source? Scratch that, she would never tell me even if I bargain the information of Quirrell in return. How in Merlin's bloody beard did she know? She had jumped so far ahead of the questions that he expected her to ask. He expected some doubts on his and Antoninus' abilities, not about Quirrell!_

"I need an oath of secrecy."

Diana's eyes hardened and stare at him menacingly. If looks could kill, she definitely would have murdered Hadrian. She then took out her wand in a very sudden motion, which caused both boys to instantly shoot their wands to their hands and taking weary stances. She then pointed her wand at her right wrist.

"I, Diana Selene Wilkinson, swear on my magic and my soul, to keep the information that Hadrian Fleamont Potter tells me about Professor Quirrell a secret unless he wishes it to be told, so mote it be."

She then flicked her wand out and a small blue light came and then disappeared. Hadrian looked at her for a long time, before lowering his wand.

"Quirrell is Lord Voldemort."

Diana didn't respond. She determined that Hadrian wasn't lying now. She'd be surprised if he were capable of joking or lying about a topic that related to the Dark Lord. Diana didn't look scared or horrified either… just… in deep thought. Her stern and deadly gaze from earlier vanished. She then sat down in her seat and sighed.

"He really didn't die didn't he?"

"No… not really."

A silence then lasted for a while before Diana stood up from her seat.

"May 11th, I expect both of you here, two o'clock sharp. The challenge for the two vacant seats will take place then. I hope I will not be disappointed."

Diana then took down the privacy ward and shoed at them to go away. Once they left, Diana sat back down in her seat, contemplating about the confirmation of Quirrell as Voldemort.

_Luckily this didn't get out… imagine all the death eaters that would and try and seek him out again… thankfully Hadrian had the brain to not let something like that out_…_ sigh… what to do… Slytherin House is going to descend back to the depths it did during Voldemort's reign again if he comes back… A__fter I worked so hard to restructure it… I don't have much longer, I will be graduating next year…_

Diana's thoughts had been jumbled together. For once, she didn't know how things would turn out. She was usually in control, manipulating others and orchestrating events. Now, it felt like she was gambling, if she made the wrong bet, she would lose everything. She flicked a strand of hair out of her face and looked at the stone snakehead in front of the Head Serpent's seat.

_Hadrian Potter… Antoninus Black… you both better make it after I allow you both to challenge for this position… if you can survive Voldemort whilst hauling Davis and Greengrass around on your backs, you'd both better make the position of Serpent! _

* * *

Hadrian and Antoninus had returned to their dorm after almost getting petrified by Diana. That had been scary. Both sat down on their beds and stared at the ceiling.

$$ Something on your mind, Hadrian? $$

Hadrian rubbed his eyes as Pistis talked to him.

$$ Things just got a lot more complicated $$

$$ How… did the Headmaster let in another troll? $$

$$ No… Antoninus and I almost got killed by Voldemort, the guy everyone thinks my brother killed. $$

$$ Sssssss… Voldemort… or Tom Riddle as he was known before… was a Serpent in Slytherin $$

Hadrian then sat up once he heard the name Tom Riddle in the same sentence as Slytherin.

$$ Tom Riddle went to Hogwarts? $$

$$ Yes… I know of him because… I cannot say… $$

Hadrian frowned slightly. It must be because of the thing from before. What could Pistis not tell him? He said he needed to find it himself first, something in the castle.

$$ But since he was a Serpent… there should be records of him… $$

$$ Where? $$

She'd better not say I cannot tell you, or I'd hex the painting off the wall.

$$ A room that only allows Serpents to enter… the Head Serpent will show you if you make it as one of the seven. $$

Great. At least that is another reason to become Serpent by May. It was also another reason to not botch it up.

"Hey Hadrian, can you ask Pistis if she knows anything about Umbra Cantariarum? Maybe ask about the spell Fiendfyre as well. I know that is on your mind. She might have some knowledge or advice on this field."

$$ Pistis… do you know anything about the spell Umbra Cantariarum… or Fiendfyre? $$

$$ Ssss… both are incredibly powerful spells… $$

Pistis then explained to Hadrian what she could. She pretty much explained as much as Dumbledore. However, she did give him an important piece of advice. Spells of that magnitude is all about control and discipline. She advised if they were to practice it, do it in short bursts with each other present in the room. If something went wrong, they could help each other out.

When Hadrian translated it back for Antoninus, he was had also thought that her advice was good and made sense. They both knew that they were going have to put in a lot of work if that wanted to become Serpents. They had just over a month to master these difficult spells. They would need to start working tomorrow straight away!

* * *

Both boys gasped for breath after their two hours of practice. During the last week, Hadrian and Antoninus had attempted the spells Fiendfyre and Umbra Cantariarum. Luckily each other were in the room, or they would have died. Hadrian had managed to control Fiendfyre for roughly 20 seconds, this was also whilst his fire was formless. He didn't dare try to let the fire linger and create a beast or animal on the scale Voldemort did.

Antoninus had managed Umbra Cantariarum on a basic level, treating it more like a regular spell. Antoninus couldn't maintain the smooth flow of shadows traveling at the dummy. Instead, he shot rope after rope of shadow in quick and short bursts at the target dummy. Since he couldn't even hold the flow of shadows going forward, he obviously wasn't going to reverse it backward and do the force bomb. He could end up tearing his own skin and bone off. Both of them only practiced their spells a couple of times, they tired easily from using such powerful spells in such little time.

The boys had usually started off practicing their own spells that they wanted then sparred with one another. They focused more on dueling for the upcoming challenge for the Serpents. They knew it would take way longer than a month to be able to perform Fiendfyre and Umbra Cantariarum with finesse. Those were powerful spells that left a person exhausted. They needed to practice and slowly build up their stamina before they could use it in a fight.

The two boys then called it a day when it was thirty minutes till five o'clock. They were meeting McGonagall at her office to floo to Diagon Alley today. There Gringotts appointment had come at last. Finally, they could transport the stone away from Hogwarts. The boys got back to their dorms, showered and got changed. Hadrian had decided that it was best if Antoninus hung on to the stone. If need be, he could run away the fastest after all with his shadow clone trickery. The two boys approached McGonagall's office and after a quick chat, they left.

Hadrian and Antoninus were once back again in the luxurious looking bank. The goblin at the front desk, like before, didn't look up.

"Name please?"

"Hadrian Potter, and Antoninus Black."

Instead of making us wait, the goblin snapped his head up to look at us immediately. It then gave them a toothy grin.

"Key please?"

McGonagall eyed the goblin wearily as she handed over their keys. She had never seen a goblin this happy before. In fact, she never had seen a goblin happy before.

"Right then, this way Mr. Potter, Mr. Black."

McGonagall told them to not be long and the two boys hurried off. They then turned the corner and went down the familiar hallway. They then entered the room they came into last time and saw Sharptooth and Bloodfang waiting for them. Sharptooth then stood up.

"Mr. Potter, I hope you don't mind this arrangement… after last time, I figured you'd rather have these sessions together with Mr. Black? Bloodfang and I both will be managing both your financial interests."

Hadrian then cut straight to the chase.

"Not to be rude Account Sharptooth, but this meeting has taken a great effort from us to get, the old goat barely agreed to us coming. Time is short, so I will be blunt. Can you draft up a proposal that can't identify us to Nicholas Flamel?"

Whatever both goblins thought this sudden meeting was about, they hadn't expected that. Sharptooth narrowed his eyes.

"Yes, but why might this anonymous proposal be necessary?"

Hadrian looked around the room.

"This room cannot be monitored by anyone?"

Sharptooth and Bloodfang both scoffed.

"Gringotts values its client's privacy, Mr. Potter, the rooms have been given every kind of enchantment and wards to prevent eavesdroppers or surveillance bugs from coming inside. Yes, whatever you say will be kept secret."

Hadrian nodded at Antoninus, who then took out the Philosopher's Stone. Both goblin's then stared dumbfounded at the stone. Bloodfang had managed to recover while Sharptooth was still thunderstruck.

"So what do you suggest for the proposal, Mr. Potter?"

Hadrian then took out couple sheets of parchment and placed it down on the table. They had prepared this months ago after they stole the stone.

"Here are a few drafts we made, it should be quite detailed about how horrendous the traps at Hogwarts were. It also states our demands in return for the stone."

This cut Sharptooth out of his daze as he leaned over to look at the drafts as well. The draft proposal had three things that stood out to the goblin. One, the traps were horrendous, Mr. Potter had not been lying. Two, the favors, any knowledge on fire or shadow related spells… interesting choice of magic. Three, the gold in return.

"Only 10,000 Galleons Mr. Potter? Split amongst you both… that will be 5000 Galleons each… you could demand constant access to the stone for unlimited gold… why limit yourselves?"

Both boys then smiled at the goblin. Antoninus then spoke up first.

"First, we don't need unlimited gold… we only wish for this much so that it is enough to do investments in the future."

"Second, it would also look strange if the market had a sudden large influx of gold. 5000 Galleons each is enough to make investments and fly below the radar undetected if we spread out our expenditure over time. Wouldn't want anyone else thinking we have the Philosopher's Stone now would we?"

Hadrian's rhetorical question at the end had the goblins laughing.

"You both certainly are not like other wizards Mr. Potter, Mr. Black. Indeed, what you both have said is true. Most wizards would have caved into our suggestion just now, we are glad that both of you have some semblance of intelligence…"

The goblins then gave them their customary cruel grins.

"We will take your drafts and refine them and have them sent off."

Both boys nodded their heads. Sharptooth then walked away to place the drafts in a folder. Bloodfang then spoke up at them.

"Is there anything else Mr. Potter, Mr. Black, we have already withdrawn 300 galleons each from your trust vaults for you. We assumed you needed this much."

"Thank you Bloodfang, and you assumed right. We were here under the cover story of getting more gold for new Quidditch supplies. This reminds me, we wish to open a separate vault to place the stone in, and if our proposal goes through, use that vault as our primary financial holding."

Bloodfang nodded his head.

"Very well… would you like me or Sharptooth to oversee this vault?"

"Can't you both do it?"

"No."

Both goblins responded at once. Hadrian then contemplated for a bit.

"Account Bloodfang, please handle it. This is not a shot at your capabilities accountant Sharptooth. I just don't want to leave any clue for my parents to find… you are after all in charge of the Potter vaults."

Bloodfang just shook his head whilst Sharptooth smiled.

"No, Mr. Potter… I am not actually the goblin that manages all of the Potter vaults, that is Griphook… let's just say I am a part of it… however, I will acknowledge your choice and explain to you my position on your next visit, when we have more time."

"Then until we next meet, Accountant Sharptooth, Bloodfang, thank you for your time."

Both boys had said this in perfect unison.

"Until next we meet, Mr. Potter, Mr. Black."

Hadrian and Antoninus each picked up their bag of gold and were escorted outside by goblin guards. McGonagall was tapping her foot. She had been waiting outside for thirty minutes.

"Come on, let's head to the Quidditch store and get going back to Hogwarts."

Both boys then were brought to the Quidditch store by McGonagall. However, she was surprised slightly when they didn't buy a broom, but just other Quidditch gear. They had bought some very high-quality shoulder, elbow, knee and knee pads with a pair of gloves and boots. They also each bought an undervest that would help absorb hits by bludgers slightly better.

"I thought you both were going to get new brooms?"

Antoninus then let the lie roll of his teeth. Well, it wasn't really a lie, but a half-truth. Another broom brand had caught their eye, and if their proposal to Flamel went through, they could be investors in the broom company. Also, the hadn't withdrawn enough gold for that either. A quality broom would be around 400 - 500 Galleons and they only had 300 each.

"We just found out a few days ago that the Nimbus 2001 will be coming out early this summer. We will just keep the gold on us for now and buy it then. We didn't want to miss out on the opportunity to get some better Quidditch gear either. No offense… but the school gear that is provided is very bad."

McGonagall had to agree with that point. The school Quidditch gear and brooms were atrocious, even during her time at Hogwarts. The three of them left Diagon Alley and back to Hogwarts, with nobody knowing of the rare artifact they just dropped off.


	15. Chapter 15: The Cloak of Invisibility

**Chapter 15: The Cloak of Invisibility**

$$ Hadrian… how goes to the training? $$

"Oh no, I am showering first, your talking to Pistis."

There was a bit of a struggle for who would shower first. This ended up in both boys drawing their wands and firing a spell at one another. Hadrian fired an Expelliarmus, whilst Antoninus fired a Stupefy. Both of the spells struck each other head-on and the boys then struggled as they got consumed by the tug of war. Hadrian was still exhausted from the previous training, he had pushed himself a lot more today. After another 30 seconds, Hadrian was overpowered and sent flying onto the floor, unconscious.

"Geez, you were going to talk to Pistis anyway, I don't even take long in the shower… unlike you."

Antoninus muttered out a few things whilst picking up his clothes and towel. Just as he entered the bathroom, he cast a quick Enervate at Hadrian before shutting and locking the door.

"Urghhh… Did I lose? Damn it!"

$$ You seem to be progresssssing well… what of the fire and shadow ssspells that you were learning. $$

Hadrian rolled over and the floor onto his back. He groaned slightly before sitting up.

$$ We have done what we can. It has been very taxing, both of us feel like we are approaching magical exhaustion every other day… $$

$$ That is no good… Hadrian… training is important… but don't overwork… find time to rest and relax. $$

$$ We do Quidditch. $$

Pistis frowned.

$$ That is still working your body physically… and mentally… you need rest properly… $$

Hadrian got up from the floor, still sweaty and bothered from the training.

$$ Alright Pistis, I will rest… but after I become a Serpent. $$

$$ No Hadrian… rest now… when you become Serpent… a lot will change… $$

"Told you I am fast, your turn now! And don't shoot another spell at me this time!"

After showering and resting a bit, the two boys then hurried off to charms class. They were going to make it barely on time. They got there in a rush.

"Over there!"

Antoninus then pointed out where Daphne and Tracey sat and the two boys went to sit down next to them. Hadrian had zoned out what Professor Flitwick was teaching and retreated into his mind with Occlumency. He was in deep thought about the Serpents. _Was Pistis talking about the expectations of being a Serpent? Or the responsibilities? The cutthroat nature of such a position? I already know all of this… What did Pistis mean by a lot will change? Just how much would change once he ascended to that position_ A strong elbow jab to his stomach woke him out of his trance.

"... Mr. Potter?"

Hadrian had barely heard his name being called by Professor Flitwick. Hadrian glanced around quickly and saw everyone looking at him, along with what Flitwick wrote on the board. He then looked down and saw a question written in Antoninus' book.

"The knockback jinx sir. Its incantation is Flipendo."

"Excellent Mr. Potter, take 5 points for Slytherin."

Hadrian gave Antoninus a look of thanks. He just gave back a look of pay attention, daydream and sleep later. After that, Hadrian did his best to focus in class. He had exhausted himself a lot more than he liked earlier today. He was so out of it that he didn't even notice Julian coming towards him and calling his name after class.

"Harry! Urgh… Hadrian! HADRIAN!"

Everyone in the corridor then turned to look at the commotion caused by the boy-who-lived. Hadrian wanted to hex his brother immediately. _Really? Of all the places, why here. _Hadrian knew why Julian had come to him, he wanted to know more on what happened with Quirrell and why all of a sudden the third floor corridor was no longer out of bounds. _Why did he come to him? Because the bloody old goat told him that Hadrian would tell him and it's not his place to tell. What utter bullshit. He was trying to get us to talk and bond with one another. _

"What is it, little brother."

"I am not that much-"

"Save it and cut to the point, what do you want?"

"You know what I want! I've been trying to get you to tell me about Quirrell!"

"As I have said before, why don't you just go ask the Headmaster."

"I HAVE! But he said-"

"That it is not his business to tell and it is mine. Since I don't want to tell you, bugger off."

Hadrian then turned to leave, he was tired and didn't want to deal with this. All of a sudden he was flung forward and he smashed onto the ground in front of him hard. _The little shit actually hexed me in the back while I wasn't looking…_

Laughter went around from the Gryffindors as Hadrian laid on the floor. Hadrian was so tempted to throw the bone-breaker straight at his brother's head for that. Hadrian just managed to get his anger under control as he saw Antoninus, Daphne and Tracey all take out their wands.

Before they could act, Hadrian ignored the pain in his shoulder and flipped around on the floor and shot a Stupefy at his brother. His brother then somehow managed to shield it. Julian shifted back slightly on his feet after absorbing the impact of Hadrian's spell, his wand arm shaking slightly.

"Yeah! Ron told me what your slimy pal Black did, Ha! You didn't think-"

Julian then was launched back onto the floor and tied in ropes. Hadrian didn't bother with mouthing off at him now. He got up of the ground and disarmed him, catching his wand. He then cast a sticking charm at him to the floor. All the Slytherins howled with laughter and sent jeers at him.

"HEY! FLIP-"

Before Ron could get off the Flipendo spell, Antoninus stunned him with ease. Finnigan, as Hadrian finally remembered his name, then shot a Flipendo at Hadrian. Hadrian was already in a bad mood, he slashed his wand at the spell, then like a baseball bat hitting the ball, and sent the spell flying back at him. It hit Finnigan with such incredible force that it sent him flying and crashing into the Gryffindor crowd behind him.

All the Slytherins continued to laugh. The taunts thrown at Julian got worse as he tried struggling out of the ropes.

"What's the matter, other Potter? Can't tie your shoes? Need your brother to come do it for you?"

Crabbe and Goyle laughed themselves silly at Draco's taunt. This only caused Julian to wriggle around even more on the floor. He, however, didn't get anywhere and stayed on the same spot due to the sticking charm.

"Look at that, the other Potter has turned into a flobberworm!"

All of the Slytherins gathered now couldn't help but laugh at that statement. Hadrian was surprised when Granger came out in front of the Gryffindors to defend his brother.

"Free him!"

All the Slytherins started to quiet down. A few narrowed their eyes at the demanding tone from one with such a low station as her.

"Back of you filthy little Mud-"

"Come now Malfoy, as Hadrian told you on the train before, that is unbecoming of an heir to be throwing that word around so easily."

Antoninus had sent a small powered Stupefy at Malfoy, only enough to sting and stun his legs for a moment, which caused him to fall on his ass.

"Hermione! I don't need your-"

"You are tied up and stuck to the ground, Julian Potter! How much more arrogant can you get!"

"A lot more."

Hermione then turned to glare at Tracey who had scoffed that out.

"Very well Granger, as long as you keep him and his questions away from me. I am tired of him coming to me and demanding answers like he is the second coming of Merlin. I will free him and not harm him as long as this doesn't happen again… and if it does, I won't be as pleasant next time."

"Hey I-"

"I can manage that."

All the Slytherins chuckled at how the boy-who-lived was just being talked over by Hadrian and a Mudblood. Hadrian said nothing more and dismissively flicked his wand at Julian. The ropes then loosened before fading away. Julian then got up, also no longer being stuck to the floor.

"You-"

Antoninus then shot a stunner straight at Julian from behind and he went flying onto the floor in front of Granger.

"You! You said you wouldn't harm-"

"I did, as you can see, that wasn't me. It was Antoninus."

All the Slytherins barked out with laughter whilst the Gryffindors glared at Hadrian.

"Farewell Granger."

Hermione looked torn between outrage and admiration at the demonstration of magic the two boys just showed. Non-verbal and none of the spells they used were listed in the first-year or second-year syllabus. She really wanted to know, she had trouble performing some of the spells from the second year, like the disarming charm.

"What spell was that?"

Hadrian didn't even turn around to talk to her.

"That wasn't part of our agreement Granger. You will learn it in due time…"

"But, but…"

The Slytherins had already followed after Hadrian, forming a wall behind him as he and his group walked away.

* * *

"You know, I am glad this room exists and everything, but could both of you please just tell me next time. After we went through one of your secret paths last time I…"

Antoninus turned to look at Hadrian first before turning to Tracey.

"Sorry Tracey, that one is on me. And yeah… we will let you know next time."

Tracey smiled back at him. Both Daphne and her haven't gotten over that traumatic experience with Quirrell chasing them with the unforgivables after they walked with Hadrian and Antoninus through the secret passageways.

They had also pestered Hadrian and Antoninus to help them improve since the near-death experience. The two girls had looked at them with awe at how calm and collected they were. _Ok maybe not calm…_ _but they still were able to make decisions and react in that life and death situation._ They had dragged them both out of there alive.

Daphne had told her something about a life debt, but Tracey didn't really listen. In her mind, she already was in debt. Some magical life debt wouldn't make a difference to her. Truth be told, Tracey had truly admired them for how much they trusted one another and how alike they think. Well… they had their own quirks, Antoninus was a lot more sarcastic, whilst Hadrian is more reclusive. Hadrian only ever becomes a doofus when Antoninus is around to make him one. It was much like her own friendship with Daphne in a way.

"Now we will work on the stunning charm first, focus on your intent, Stupefy."

Antoninus launched the spell at Hadrian who absorbed it with a Protego shield. A large ping could be heard as the spell collided with the shield.

"See? Tracey, you try first."

"Stupefy."

A small red light flew out at Hadrian. Hadrian then absorbed it in his Protego shield without a sound being made.

"That's a good start, keep working on it. Antoninus, why don't you start on Daphne, I'll manage Tracey."

Hadrian and Tracey, Antoninus and Daphne, worked for Stupefy next half an hour. Daphne had managed to grasp the spell pretty well. She was able to keep her stunners at a consistent power level. Tracey had gotten the spell, but the power of the spell kept varying. Sometimes it would fizzle out against Hadrian's shield, whereas other times it would be like a gong, a loud crash against his shield.

"That was a good session, I learned so much more from you two then class! Gosh, how are you both so good!"

"Because we don't rely on classes to learn?"

Hadrian chuckled slightly at Antoninus' reply.

"Come on, let's go to the kitchens… through the proper way this time. I don't think I am going to be using that secret passageway myself for a while either."

The four of them then left to Room of Requirement and headed for the kitchens. Just as Antoninus was about to tickle the pear in the painting, he paused. He looked around the area for a bit.

"Something wrong?"

Daphne instantly became on high alert and looked around.

"Must just be my paranoia, come on, let's go in."

Once the four of them got seated, Tipsy came over once again.

"Master Potter, Master Black! Misses Greengrass and Misses Davis! It be good seein you again."

"It is nice to see you to Tipsy, the usual for Antoninus and I. Ladies?"

Daphne and Tracey then order something light. Hadrian looked over at Antoninus who was glancing at an empty corner in the room from time to time. _What's the matter with him? _

"So, when is our next session going to be?"

Tracey excitedly asked whilst the food was being prepared.

"Come on Tracey, you know they are busy, they need to practice and train as well, they are going for-"

Before Daphne could finish her sentence, Antoninus quickly stood up and quickdrawed out his wand and shot three stunners at the blank corner in the room. Multiple loud thuds were heard.

Hadrian looked at the corner with confusion before realizing. _It was people! Were they under the disillusionment charm and eavesdropping on us? _At that point, the girls and Hadrian had also drawn their wands. The other working house elves had also come over to see what was going on.

Antoninus approached roughly where he heard the thud and reached forward. He felt something, a silky sort of fabric. Antoninus then looked up at Hadrian and gave him a nod. Hadrian pointed his wand at where Antoninus' hand was. Antoninus then grabbed the silky fabric and tore it off. Underneath laid his brother, Weasley, and Granger.

"What is your brother and the other two doing here!"

"A great question to ask when we wake them up."

Antoninus then looked closely at the cloak.

"Is that… is that an invisibility cloak? Wait- How did you know they were in the corner?"

Daphne also seemed to be interested in how Antoninus knew. Hadrian knew that Antoninus wasn't ready to reveal his eye yet.

"I didn't. I just felt something was off… like people were looking at me…I could also sense anger directed at me."

"What? What are you? A wild animal?"

Whilst Tracey and Daphne seemed to gradually accept his answer, Hadrian looked cautiously at him.

"I couldn't see them."

Hadrian's eyes widened slightly. _Holy crap, what kind of invisibility cloak is this? It can dodge Antoninus' Eye of Kilrogg? Merlin's bloody beard! _Hadrian then walked over to one of the watching house elves.

"Excuse me, but what is your name elf?"

"Pinky, Master Hadrian."

"Oh? You know my name?"

"Of course Master Hadrian, Tipsy been telling all house elves about how great Master Hadrian and Black are!"

"Oh… brilliant. Well then, Pinky, could you go get Professor McGonagall and Snape, please. They should be in the great hall around now, eating with everyone else. Tell them to come down to the kitchens for an urgent matter."

Pinky nodded and then popped away. Hadrian then walked back over to where Antoninus had left the cloak. Hadrian then picked it up and examine it closely. There was some weird triangle symbol with a line and circle inside it just underneath the hood. It was nearly unnoticeable. I wonder what symbol is that… I have never seen it before.

"Potter… this had better be important, I have no time for-"

Snape then paused as he saw what Hadrian was holding in his hands, and the three unconscious Gryffindors.

"Mr. Potter! Why are the three students unconscious?"

"Professor, please, let me explain."

Hadrian said in a calm and relaxing manner, despite struggling not to yell at her. McGonagall and Snape then quieted down and motioned for him to talk.

"Daphne, Tracey, Antoninus and I were having dinner in the kitchens. We wanted a change of food today and decided to come down. However, we noticed something strange with one of the empty corners in the room. Antoninus then stood up and fired stunners at the corner of the room. We expected that it might have been the Weasley twins under the disillusion charm to prank us, but then to our surprise, we ripped off an invisibility cloak and found these three."

The lie about the Weasley twins rolled off Hadrian's mouth effortlessly. McGonagall's eyes became as big as a house elf, like tennis balls, as Hadrian handed over the invisibility cloak. Snape meanwhile became smug, like he was about to commit a bank robbery and get away with it. McGonagall then revived the three of them. When the three woke up, they were terrified to see McGonagall and Snape standing in front of them.

"Julian Potter! You will come with me to the Headmaster's office! NOW! We will be getting your parents here as well! Severus, you can assign the punishments for Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger… and 90 points from Gryffindor."

Hermione and Ron looked both shocked. McGonagall was taking their side?

"But-"

"No buts! Mr. Weasley! You were caught eavesdropping on another student under an invisibility cloak. An item that shouldn't be brought into a school. This is a breach of privacy!"

Ron then shut up whilst Hermione looked down at the floor in shame. Julian then left with McGonagall and the cloak, whilst Snape escorted the other two Gryffindor's out of the kitchens with glee. Hadrian then whispered in Antoninus' ear.

"Could you really not see them?"

"Yes, I couldn't. I managed to see a foot or two when we were outside of the kitchen. It was very jarring and strange, imagine a foot appearing out of nowhere, then disappearing. Cloak probably wasn't big enough to cover all three of them all the time. The rest is like how I explained. I could feel someone looking at me, with anger as well. Probably was your brother."

"We'd better hope it is confiscated or taken back by my… parents… so that this doesn't remain in Hogwarts. Imagine the things they could do with that! They could walk into our common room and get away with it."

"You sure you don't want to go meet them? I mean…"

"No. If their letters to me are that bad, I don't want to meet them in person. They also couldn't even be bothered to send me a gift on Yule eve, or even at the least a card telling me 'Happy Holidays'. What a family! I got gifts from you, Daphne and Tracey only. This first gifts I ever got were from you guys and not them."

"I guess your right. It's just… don't take this the wrong way… but if my family were alive, I would do everything to get to know them and be part of them. I know your family is not what you imagined a family was like… in fact far from it. But maybe make an effort. They might surprise you…"

Hadrian contemplated what Antoninus had said. He did take the advice seriously from his longtime friend. Honestly, at this point, Antoninus is more of a brother to him than Julian. A house elf then popped in front of them at this moment.

"Master Hadrian, the Headmaster wants to be seein you in his office. He also said you might need some sherbert lemons?"

The elf then popped away.

"Guess I don't really have a choice, do I?


	16. Chapter 16: Dissapointment

**Chapter 16: Disappointment**

"Sherbert lemon"

The gargoyle in front of the Headmaster's office then moved aside. _Great… time to meet my parents. _Hadrian walked up towards the door, however, before he could knock, the door opened by itself. _Huh… this was reminiscent of when Dumbledore came to Stockwell's Orphanage…_

"Ah, Hadrian my boy. You don't mind if I call you that? It might get a bit hard to distinguish."

Hadrian couldn't even be bothered with the Headmaster's antics to seem familiar and grandfatherly. He did a quick glance at a phoenix before walking up.

"Sure."

Hadrian looked over on the left-hand side of the room and saw Julian between… his parents. He then returned his gaze to the Headmaster and stared at him.

"If you don't mind me asking sir, why was I called? I recall being the victim and reporting my brother and his friends' irresponsible actions."

James frowned at Hadrian's formal tone, whilst Lily looked saddened by how distant he remained.

"Ah, there is no issue with that. Julian has already been given punishment. The cloak is going to be taken back your Dad. I called you here because Julian and his parents wished to know what happened to you. They are concerned about how you ended up in the hospital wing."

Hadrian couldn't help but laugh.

"You really know how to twist words around don't you Headmaster? Concerned are they? I highly doubt that. As for why I was in the hospital wing, you know there are other people involved. It would be very inappropriate for me to reveal things without their consent as well."

"Harry, we just-"

"My name is Hadrian."

James looked ready to explode when Lily put an arm on him.

"I'm sorry Hadrian. We were just concerned, Julian has stated that Professor Quirrell disappeared the night you and three other Slytherins got placed in the hospital wing. We just wanted to see for ourselves if you were alright."

Hadrian didn't know if he should believe her words or not. It was nothing like the letters she sent before Yule, asking questions and demanding them because they were related by blood. His mother had sounded, as much as he hated to admit… sincere. _I promised Antoninus that I would at least try… _Hadrian turned to look at his mother.

"Well, I am alright. I didn't get hurt too much, Madam Pomfrey did a good job of healing me, but for what happened to Quirrell, it is best if the Headmaster told you. That topic is quite sensitive so you should ask him to tell."

Lily then realized at this moment that Hadrian had her eyes. She was happy that Hadrian lost the glare he had earlier been at least receptive and not shot back immediately like how he did with Dumbledore. She was about to say something when Julian barged in.

"You are just deflecting to Dumbledore again! You always do this and that!"

Lily then became worried as Hadrian's frown returned.

"Because it is not my place to tell, brother. Other people's lives aren't a book for you to just pick up and read. Not that you read anyway. It is rude and impolite to tell things without them knowing."

Lily quickly tried to take control of the conversation again before Julian did something irreparable.

"Come now Jules, I am sure Hadrian has a good reason. Please, just calm down for now."

Julian wanted to argue but then shut up at the look his mother gave him.

"Albus, as Hadrian as stated, what is this about. I can see that he is in good health. So aside from having to confiscate the cloak…"

Lily then gave James an apprehensive glare. Hadrian then couldn't help himself as he chuckled slightly.

"You see, Hadrian, Antoninus, Daphne, and Tracey were-"

"Wait! Antoninus Black?"

Dumbledore then looked at James.

"Now James, I know that it is-"

"Your friends with that traitor's family spawn!"

Phineas Black's portrait glared at James for the insult at his family. James instantly barged forward and stood near Hadrian. Hadrian bit down on his tongue hard and clenched his fists. James really was pushing him to his absolute peak in Occlumency control. _Peaceful thoughts Hadrian… Peaceful thoughts_

"Yes… what about it?"

James glared at him murderously.

"James, calm down, young Antoninus is nothing like-"

"Forget it, Headmaster, there is no need to explain it to him. Let's just get back to what you were-"

"Now listen here, you can't go off being around Black! The last one I knew and befriended turned on me and almost cost my family's life! He also killed one of my longtime best friends and 12 other muggles before I put him down! There lot are a treacherous and traitors bunch! Also, we are your parents! So you need to treat us with the proper respect and-"

"No, I don't. I don't need to do anything for you. Please tell me, Lord Potter, when have you acted like my parents for the last 11 years? Please tell me… I'll wait."

There was a silence in the room as James struggled to think of words.

"That's what I thought. Now, Headmaster, if that is all shall we con-"

Hadrian then got backhanded. His glasses managed to stay on even from the force of the slap. Hadrian then went tumbling onto the floor. He had the very wind knocked out of him.

"JAMES!"

Lily had yelled and rushed up to stop him. Hadrian coughed slightly on the floor. His head ringing slightly from the whooping it just got. Hadrian then realized what happened.

"WHAT DO YOU KNOW? I made decisions for the Potter family! I agreed to Albus and sent you to the Dursleys to keep your mother's family safe! It also was for Julian's safety as we became heavily favored targets for the death eaters-"

Hadrian became furious and saw red at that moment. _For Julian's safety… everything was given to him. That cloak of invisibility… love and attention from parents… everything was for Julian. Hadrian was expendable!_ All the magical objects in the Headmaster's room had stopped moving. The moons and stars rotating around a globe had stopped as well as the telescope and clock.

James and Lily had also been frozen in place. They couldn't move a muscle. Hadrian was still coughing as he got up from the floor. Lily could only stare as Hadrian got up. Dumbledore was incredibly shocked at how James and Lily had been frozen. He had seen in the Orphanage how strong the two boys were and how Hadrian had mad objects shudder when angry.

"Hadrian-"

Hadrian wiped his mouth and spat when he stood up. His emerald green eyes now ablaze and barring into James Potter like the killing curse coming for him. His voice now became deadly quiet.

"Glad to know I was a throwaway child."

A red light then came towards Hadrian. Without even thinking, Hadrian summoned his wand to his hand and blocked the spell with a slash, sending it to the wall near one of the previous Headmaster's portrait. He then lashed out a Flipendo, Expelliarmus, Stupefy, Incacrecous, Silencio and a sticking charm in quick succession. Julian couldn't even process the spells in time as Hadrian returned that volley of spells in the span of a few blinks of an eye.

James and Lily's eyes both widened at seeing how fast Hadrian cast the spells… and non-verbally as well. Julian was then glued to the wall, bound up, and silenced. Phineas Black and a few other Headmaster portraits began applauding Hadrian for such an excellent display of magic. Hadrian then caught Julian's wand.

"Please refrain from doing anything stupid Julian, but at least I can see where you got your boastful and idiotic tendencies from."

Dumbledore had taken out his wand at this point as well.

"Hadrian, please put your wand away."

"Of course Headmaster. The one who was only defending himself from the initial attacker should put their wand away."

"Hadrian-"

"If you say another word about putting my wand away I will snap Julian's wand."

That got a look from the Headmaster.

"Hadrian, you can't seriously mean that."

Hadrian glared scathingly at Dumbledore. Lily wondered at that moment if that is what her eyes looked like when she was furious with James. Hadrian then ground his teeth.

"Hmph, you are right. I respect Mr. Ollivander too much to snap one of his most prized creations."

Dumbledore let out a breath of relief. Hadrian then also noticed that his phoenix chirped up at the mention of the wand. Hadrian then rotated the wand in his hand.

"Based on the reaction of your phoenix, I assume the core is something from… her."

"Yes Hadrian, very perceptive, both on the wand and Fawkes' gender."

Fawkes let out a chirp at that. Hadrian's anger started to dissipate slowly. This unfroze James and Lily, who were frozen by Hadrian's accidental magic earlier.

"Give me back my son's wand!"

Hadrian again refrained from doing anything malicious. He held the wand out and James snatched it. James then went over.

"Now if we may-"

"No, Headmaster. This conversation is over. I won't be talking to Lord or Lady Potter… and if you haven't noticed, certainly not my brother either."

Lily's heart broke slightly at being addressed so formally by her elder son. Hadrian then walked towards the door. James was about to free Julian down when he heard Hadrian cut off and disrespect the Headmaster.

"HEY! You can't talk to-"

"Hadrian, you cannot go yet. I brought you here to help me explain about Voldemort."

The effect was imminent. James and Lily both flinched at his name. Hadrian's harsh tone then cut them out of their temporary trance.

"A person like you shouldn't have any trouble making them believe that Voldemort is alive. Why do you need me? You want me to elaborate on how I almost got hit by the killing curse a few dozen times? No thank you."

Lily's eyes stared in shock at her son. _What did he just say?_ Hadrian walked closer to the door before he was once again, heckled by the Headmaster.

"Hadrian! I was hoping that you could explain what you went through, and perhaps provide a memory-"

"What? Why do you need a memory… and what do you mean providing it?"

James was still processing hearing the words Voldemort and alive together.

"It is done by pointing a wand at your head. You then extract the memory like this."

Dumbledore then demonstrated, pulling out a light blue strand of glowing liquid.

"You then can place them in a pensive, a device for viewing memories."

Hadrian was both curious and disturbed at the same time. He was curious about the pensive and disturbed that Dumbledore thought he would hand over his memory of that event.

"Why didn't you ask this of me in the first place?"

"I was hoping that you would have a few words with your family they-"

"Well, you were mistaken, Headmaster. If you had asked me this at the start, I might have even entertained the idea of handing something so private and valuable, but forgive me, after being backhanded by Lord Potter, I have no desire to share such information."

"Hadr-"

"Good day Headmaster."

Hadrian then stormed out of the office.

"I am going to get that-"

"JAMES POTTER! WHAT DID YOU DO!"

Lily screamed with such rage and fury that James instantly shut up and shifted backwards. Lily spent the next few moments chewing James out. The Headmaster tried to calm Lily down during her rage, but it just made her even angrier. She started asking Dumbledore about what Hadrian meant by a few dozen killing curses shot at him and Voldemort being alive. Julian just watched his parents argue and Dumbledore trying to stop his mom whilst still stunned, tied and stuck against the wall, with nobody able to hear him.

* * *

Hadrian stormed his way through the halls of Hogwarts. He was in an incredibly foul mood at the moment. The audacity that the old goat and his family had to demand such things from him. Hadrian got back to his and Antoninus' room. He slammed the door open and marched over to his bed.

Antoninus let out a low whistle as he waved his wand to shut the door. Hadrian then just sat on his bed and stared at the ground. Antoninus stayed silent, he knew his friend needed time to think for himself. Even Pistis knew better than to talk at the moment and also stayed silent. Antoninus waited for 10 minutes.

"That bad huh?"

"…"

"I'd take it the meeting was worse than what you expected?"

"…"

"Well, wanna go to the Room? Blow off some steam?"

Hadrian let out a sigh, he knew Antoninus was just trying to help.

"Yeah… why not."

* * *

Daphne and Tracey just entered the Room of Requirement and were flabbergasted by what they felt and saw. The room temperature was hot. Although there was no fire currently, there definitely must have been. Daphne and Tracey watched as Hadrian and Antoninus fought in a ferocious duel. Antoninus was currently on the defensive, shielding and batting away Hadrian's spells. Daphne and Tracey stared in awe at Hadrian's offense. He connected every spell wand movement flawlessly. He shot spell after spell at an incredible pace. However, Daphne had found Antoninus' dodging and shielding of Hadrian's offense to be even more incredible. He was so nimble. His blocking and dodging looked so effortless. She then saw Antoninus deflect a blood red spell. _Wait! Was that…?_

Daphne didn't have time to think of the curse Antoninus just blocked as the fight suddenly flipped around. In an instant, Antoninus found a small opening. He deflected an Expelliarmus and sidestepped around the Stupefy and Confractus perfectly. He then managed to retaliate back and shot a Reducto straight at Hadrian. Hadrian didn't back down and met the spell head-on with a Stupefy. Red and blue light met in the middle as a tug of war between the two of them began.

Daphne and Tracey's mouths dropped open at the cataclysmic sight. It looked beautiful despite the deadly stray lightning bolts that were sent out from where the two spells met.

"Antoninus is winning."

Daphne nodded her head. The ball of energy of where to the two spells collided had moved closer to Hadrian. _He must have been more tired after that offensive burst. _When the ball of energy was inches away from Hadrian, he cut the connection. He then jabbed his wand quickly at the remains of the ball of energy and a bright colorless light emerged from it. The light was blinding causing Daphne and Tracey to avert their eyes immediately. _Was that… Lumos Maxima?_ When they opened their eyes again, they saw Hadrian on the ground, wandless.

"That was a good move with Lumos there Hadrian. You almost had me."

Hadrian just groaned on the ground.

"I would have if I didn't forget that such a bright light near me would have blinded myself too."

"Yeah, just send the ball away next time. Maybe when you cast it, send it out at your opponent at the same time. It is a pretty good tactic."

Antoninus then pulled Hadrian up from the ground. Antoninus then handed him his wand. The two turned around and saw Daphne and Tracey's flabbergasted faces.


	17. Chapter 17: Challenge for the Seats

**Chapter 17: Challenge for the Seats**

Hadrian and Antoninus left potions early today. Professor Snape had given them a nod and let them go 20 minutes into class. All the Gryffindors seemed shocked whilst none of the Slytherins were surprised. Malfoy gave them a look of envy as the left the classroom. Today was the day after all. It was May 11th, the challenge for the two open seats was today.

Julian had also kept his distance from him since that day in the Headmaster's office. It only took him knowing that Voldemort was alive to knock down his ego of being the boy-who-lived.

Daphne and Tracey both said goodbye and wished them luck. Hadrian and Antoninus made their way over towards the Slytherin Common Room. The entrance wall shifted apart as Hadrian and Antoninus entered the unusually emptied common room. Six out of the seven serpents had two people standing behind them each. Hadrian and Antoninus walked over to Diana, who was the only serpent without anyone next to her.

"Hadrian, Antoninus, glad you two could make it."

Instantly all eyes turned to them. Their competitor's eyes narrowed, sizing up the two tiny first years. They were all a head taller than Hadrian and Antoninus. Hadrian and Antoninus then looked at the pairs gathered behind the other Serpents. They all seemed to be students from the fourth-year to sixth-year, not a single student that was below third-year. _This is looking great already…_ Antoninus sarcastically thought so in his head.

"Here are the two brackets for the two available seats."

Diana then flicked her wand and a classroom blackboard on wheels slid in next to the circular open space in the common room.

"There are two brackets. Hadrian Potter and Antoninus Black will each have a semi-finalist position as they are the ones elected by the Head Serpent for the challenge. The other six in each bracket will be paired to duel."

Miles had announced the information in a relatively bored tone. Hadrian and Antoninus then saw their names appear in the empty boxes on the bracket. Hadrian's on the left side, whilst Antoninus' was on the right one.

"Cassius Warrington, Arnold Yaxley, left side, first bracket, first pair!, Matilda Cunningham, Damien Arccington, left side, first bracket, second Pair! Darius Murphy, Lysandra Burke, right side, first bracket, only pair!"

Miles then let loose a breath before announcing the second bracket. Hadrian had been listening closely to the names announced. He recognized two of them. Warrington and Burke were currently both the 5th year Prefects. This would be a good time to watch everyone's duels and see their strengths and weaknesses.

"Ha, I envy you, Burke, if you win yours you will face Potter."

"Hmph, will I even see you in the final Warrington? Arccington is a tough one, it be such a shame if he was the one to knock you out and not me."

"I will be the one to knock you out, Burke."

"We shall see."

Warrington, Burke and a few others made small talk, completely ignoring the two of them. Warrington and Yaxley walked off into the larger circular open area. Yaxley stood on the other side, whilst Diana stood in the middle.

"The rules are simple, fight until neither one can go on, or if they are forced to exit the circular area. You can use any spell, providing you know how to cure or heal it. Contestants… get ready."

Diana then walked out of the open space area and next to the blackboard. The two bowed to each other and got into their stances.

"3… 2… 1… Begin!"

The duel was fierce, with Warrington going on the offensive first. Spell after spell bombarded against Yaxley. Yaxley wasn't very nimble and good on defense. He only used the Protego and not Repellere once to block spells. Warrington then sent a purple spell which shattered his Protego.

Yaxley was still in the process of forming another Protego shield when he was sent flying out of the circular area by a Stupefy. The duel had been quick and relentless.

"Victor, Cassius Warrington."

Hadrian and Antoninus sat a bit away from everyone else. Nobody cared to notice them, thinking that they would be easy fish to fry. The first round had ended, Hadrian and Antoninus had a good idea of everyone's skill level and watched their spells closely to see if they could learn any of them.

In the second round, Warrington defeated Arccington in a nail-biting duel. Both contestants had each been struck by spells and were injured. Warrington barely managed to win the tug of war when their spells met and sent Arccington out. Hadrian then knew it was his turn.

"Good luck."

Hadrian nodded his head at Antoninus and walked into the open circular area. Hadrian had already analyzed Burke's dueling style, she struct like a viper, sudden and quick bursts. However, they were only bursts, she couldn't keep it up. She couldn't maintain her barrage of spells for a long period of time, so after that burst of offense, she was vulnerable.

"Contestants… get ready."

Hadrian and Burke bowed to each other and got into their stances.

"3… 2… 1… Begin!"

Hadrian snapped his wand forward and shot an Incendio, Reducto, and Confractus. Burke hadn't expected Hadrian's extremely fast and non-verbal casting and hastily put up a shield to block. Hadrian smirked, if there's one thing he noticed, it was that every contestant here barely even used Repellere to block. Only Ariana Selwyn, in Antoninus' bracket, used Repellere a few times.

Hadrian kept up his offense pushing Burke on her back foot. He then launched a Bombarda at the ground in front of her, causing an explosion of dust and rubble clouding her vision. Hadrian quickly followed up with an Expelliarmus, Stupefy, and Flipendo in quick succession. The spells flew towards the smoke and missed.

Burke had dived out from the right and away from the dust and rubble. _Guess Potter really has some skills…_ Burke then went on the offensive. She shot spell after spell at Hadrian. Hadrian batted each spell away with ease. Burke was nowhere near as precise and domineering as Antoninus in a duel. He and his bloody eye made finding openings nearly impossible. _Antoninus would always adjust his spells to how I moved and dodged. Using tricks light Lumos Maxima or a smoke screen with disillusion charm wouldn't work cause he can see you with his eye._ Facing Burke's barrage was easy when compared to how hard Antoninus pushed him.

Burke gritted her teeth as she kept spewing out spells at Hadrian. She knew she couldn't keep up the offense for much longer. Burke started to slow down, the second she did, Hadrian dodged a spell then met another one straight on. Burke's yellow spell collided with Hadrian's red Stupefy. The tug of war didn't last long, after 5 to 10 seconds, Hadrian's spell had won over Burke's and knocked her out.

"Victor, Hadrian Potter."

Diana had a smile as Hadrian's name moved next to Warrington's in the final. Antoninus then dispatched his opponent as well and moved onto his final with Selwyn. Hadrian could tell that some of the other Slytherins who didn't make it stared at him and Antoninus with and envy and hatred. Hadrian was certain that if Diana weren't in the room, they would be trying to hex him and Antoninus now.

The finalists now came forth, it was Hadrian, Antoninus, Warrington, and Selwyn. They then rolled a magic dice to see who went first. Selwyn rolled higher than Warrington, so Antoninus would be facing off for the available seat first. Hadrian gave Antoninus an encouraging nod as he sat down nearby.

"Contestants… get ready!"

Antoninus and Selwyn bowed at one another.

"3… 2… 1… Begin!"

Selwyn struck first and sent a vicious wave of spells at Antoninus. Antoninus easily blocked and weaved his body through the gaps in the spells. Selwyn didn't let up on him and continued her ferocious casting of spells. She then paused when her spells struck Antoninus. She then realized it hadn't hit him, his body then shimmered a bit before dissolving into black smoke. _That's a shadow clone! He-_

She then just managed to shield in time against the flurry of spells sent by Antoninus, who materialized out of nowhere on the left. Most of the other candidates that had lost had recognized what Antoninus had done and held back their temporary hated glares. They were in shock of how well he executed the shadow clone and disillusion charm.

Antoninus' barrage of spells was precise and quick, not giving Selwyn a single opening. She was hard pressed, hastily deflecting and blocking Antoninus' spells. Selwyn then finally made a mistake, she had stepped too far to the left to dodge a spell and became slightly off-balance. Antoninus quickly ducked down and shot an Incarcerous relatively close to the ground. It caught Selwyn's feet, causing her to crash on the floor as the ropes locked her legs together. Antoninus then easily disarmed her afterwards and caught her wand.

"Congratulations, Antoninus Black. Please join Adrian here for the time being. Hadrian Potter, Cassius Warrington, come forth and get ready."

Hadrian gave Antoninus a high five on the way to the dueling space. The jealousy and glares that Antoninus got were a lot worse than before. Their rigorous and hard training over the last month had paid off. Well for Antoninus, not Hadrian yet. The near-death experience also had them truly understand what a duel was and wake them up from the false perception they got from books. Hadrian then bowed at Warrington.

"3… 2… 1… Begin!"

Warrington quickly shot forth his blood red spell. Hadrian wanted to get this over with and met Warrington head-on with a blue colored Reducto. There spells met in the center as both struggled in a battle of wills. Warrington struggled as Hadrian's blue spell crawled its way across towards him. _This kid really is that good… I can't take any chances… _Warrington then collapsed the connection and whirled his wand around and shot whip after whip of fire at Hadrian.

"Flamma Flagellum… Flamma Flagellum."

Warrington quietly whispered the incantation as he shot the fire whips at Hadrian. The other failed candidates watched Hadrian being pressed on his backfoot with glee. They already had a first-year beat them and pass, they didn't want another one!

Hadrian batted away each of the fire spells. He analyzed the trajectory and path of each whip and noticed a pattern. Hadrian then let him cast a few more ropes of fire at him, he watched Warrington's lips closely, memorizing the incantation and getting a feel for the rope of flames that he was batting away. Then on the next whip, Hadrian caught it with his wand and spun the fire around his body in a 360 turn before redirecting it back at Warrington.

Warrington just managed to roll out of the way of the searing fire whip. He quickly got back up to block Hadrian's spell, only to realize it was the same spell he sent at him earlier. _Impossible! How could he know Flamma Flagellum… this was a spell that he found in the Warrington Library at home… how could he-_ Warrington's brief muddle of thoughts was his downfall as Hadrian pressed him hard with the spell he had been using earlier. Hadrian's Flamma Flagellum was more powerful and searing hot. Warrington could feel the heat of the fire every time he shielded against it. In the end, Warrington wasn't focused enough to see the stunner that was aimed low at his knee. It connected and Warrington was then tied up by Hadrian with a swift Incarcerous.

"Victor, Hadrian Potter. Please join Miles here for the time being."

Hadrian and Antoninus now stood behind Adrian and Miles. Diana then turned to the rest of the people who didn't make it.

"Slytherin House thanks you for your time and effort, you may-"

"This is preposterous! How can first-years have a seat!"

"It is a fluke! Let me have a go at-"

Hadrian merely sighed at the two idiots who interrupted Diana. Matilda Cunningham and Darius Murphy, the two who went out first in Hadrian's bracket were the ones that opened their mouths. Hadrian then saw them fall to their knees and grab at their throats.

"Your opinions are not needed Cunningham, Arccington, you lost. At least lose with whatever dignity you have left and accept it. You will have other chances so quit whining like an insolent little child. You know the rules, there are opportunities if you are competent enough to get them… now get out of my sight before I permanently take away your ability to breathe."

Diana then released them from her choke hold and they collapsed to the floor, gasping for air non-stop. The other candidates who lost immediately left after seeing Diana in a foul mood. Warrington and Selwyn gave Hadrian and Antoninus one last look before leaving. Diana then motioned for everyone to move over to the table, where the Seven Seats of Slytherin were.

"Adrian, Miles, Slytherin House thanks you for your service and the contributions you each made as a Serpent of Slytherin, please come forward."

Hadrian watched as the two boys walked over to the table and extended their arms. They then withdrew their sleeves to show their flesh.

"Sephiroth patentibus tui occli!"

Diana's incantation caused a stir at the table. Hadrian stared in shock as the stone snake wrapped around the edge of the table seemingly awoke. It curled around the edge of the table until the head of the snake had rotated over to their side and came face to face with Adrian and Miles. The snakehead rose up until it was at the same level as their exposed writs.

$$ Slytherin releases you… from your ssservice $$

Hadrian's eye twitched slightly as he perfectly understood what the snake had just said. Antoninus didn't show a reaction, not wanting to show any hint of Hadrian's unique ability. _Maybe I should randomly cast Serpensortia a few times in our room… that way he doesn't react or instantly talk to snakes when he sees one…_

The snake's teeth turned silver and bit down on Adrian's wrist first. Adrian shuddered at the snake's bite. After the snake released him from its fangs, the wound on Adrian's wrist healed on its own. The snake then hissed the same thing to Miles and bit down on him as well. Adrian and Miles then moved backwards. Diana then gave Hadrian and Antoninus a nod. Both boys then offered their wrists to the stone snake, who stared at them from the table. Its fangs now turned golden.

$$ Slytherin welcomes you… may you bring glory to his name! $$

The snake then bit down on Antoninus first. He didn't even flinch as the fangs dug into his wrist. This garnered looks from the Carrow twins at him. Antoninus' wound then healed as the snake moved on to him. The snake, however, paused when it came to Hadrian. Hadrian couldn't tell what it was thinking as the stone snake's face remained… well… stone… and didn't move.

$$ Slytherin welcomes his Heir… may you bring glory to his name! $$

Hadrian didn't have time to react as the snake bit down on his wrist. Hadrian trembled slightly at the injection of the fangs in his wrist. It felt like it took a bit of his blood. The snake then released him and coiled back into its original position around the table. Its head now facing the Head Serpent's seat once again.

"Now, Hadrian, Antoninus, please sit."

Diana gestured at the two vacant seats at the table. Hadrian and Antoninus then sat down in their seats. There was a strange feeling of belonging, it was as if they sat down in any other seat, it wouldn't feel right. Diana seemed to read his thoughts.

"Yes, you might be feeling the sense of closeness to your seats. You should sit in only yours at all times, the consequences of not doing so are… unpleasant. The stone snake, Sephiroth, took some of your blood. Magic now recognizes you, and only you to your seat and amongst other things that only Serpents have access to…"

_Now that was interesting… it seems like it is some form of complex blood magic, that can even tie objects to you… I wonder if this is what Pistis meant when there was a room only accessible by Serpents. It must have something to do with the stone snake's blood magic. _

Diana then explained the expectations of being a Serpent. She told him and Antoninus that if they were defeated in a duel by anyone else in Slytherin, they could lay claim their seat. She then also stated that there is an expectation to never lose more than 30 house points, or others in Slytherin could lay claim to their seat. She also stated that as a Serpent, if you fail any tests or exams, other people could lay claim to your seat.

Hadrian and Antoninus both nodded, the rules seemed simple. Don't show weakness, don't get caught, and don't fail academics. In fact, it was a varied version of what they told you when you first came to Slytherin house by Professor Snape after the sorting ceremony, just with the consequence of losing your seat.

"That is all. Hadrian, Antoninus, remain behind."

Everyone else got up and left.

"Congratulations, I didn't have a chance to say it earlier. You both certainly met my expectations."

Both boys raised an eyebrow at that.

"There is much I need to tell… but not yet. It will be better if I show it to you both."

Antoninus didn't know what Hadrian was thinking, but he definitely caught the slight unintended sexual innuendo in her sentence. Her hitch invoice and the tone she used was not very appropriate.

"May 30th, 3 days before the last feast in Hogwarts, meet me back here. I will reveal it to you both then."

Hadrian knew it was the room that Pistis had spoke of. There was probably some sort of rule for a Serpent to be in his position for a while before getting access. _Two weeks from now made sense… if people just got access immediately, there was nothing to stop people just getting the position, check out the room, then leave. _

Hadrian and Antoninus both nodded and left. Both of their hearts were racing in excitement. They were now officially both Serpents of Slytherin.


	18. Chapter 18: Sephiroth's Shrine

**Chapter 18: Sephiroth's Shrine**

"Oh mighty Serpent, your humble apprentice is here to seek your knowledge! And infinite wisdom!"

"Rise my apprentice, and we shall teach you the ways of the dark side!"

Daphne rolled her eyes at Tracey's antics and Hadrian playing along. They were referring to some muggle thing again as Antoninus was laughing himself silly. Daphne, for the first few days after the two of them, became Serpents, struggled with the magnitude of their achievement. She still remembered all the Head of Houses and Dumbledore's reaction to the two of them sitting at the center of the table with the other 5th and 6th year Serpents. It was something to permently rewatch in her father's pensive over and over again.

After that, she just grew to accept it as something normal. Nothing normal ever happened when you were around the two of them. Their grades were one example. They both averaged 97% with Os in all subjects this time around for their end of term tests. _Seriously… they would never need to worry about losing their seats from a grades perspective. _

For the last two weeks, pretty much everyone from the third year and below tried to take Hadrian and Antoninus' seats. Everyone one of them got swept away by Hadrian and Antoninus. They carved through a mountain of Slytherins who flung themselves at them. Things began to settle down around three days ago where everyone stopped challenging them due to the strength they showed. It also might have had something to do with Hadrian and Antoninus leading Slytherin to win the Inter-House Quidditch Cup this year as well.

Hadrian had now become one of the most intimidating figures in Slytherin due to his prowesses with a wand. It was incredibly impressive for a first-year. He had effortlessly dispatched 16 third-year students in a row, who came to challenge him. Daphne still remembered when she managed to watch Hadrian and Antoninus duel. That had been so far beyond what she read and thought about how duels played out.

Despite their recent victories and fear they spread amongst the Slytherin first to third years, both boys didn't get cocky. They avoided fourth years and above when they could, not willing to risk having them group up and prey on them.

"Alright, let us practice the shield charm today."

After teaching the shield charm to Daphne and Tracey, the two boys had gone back to the library to begin reading on third-year material. They already knew what electives they were going to pick when the time came. Both boys definitely were going to take Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, and Care of Magical Creatures. They both agreed that Divination was pointless if you didn't have Seer blood or that talent, and for Muggle Studies, both boys were certain they would ace the class. They considered taking it as an additional OWL during the 5th year to get an additional O.

"Learning runes is exhausting… all the runic languages that we have to memorize."

"There is only just three runic languages Antoninus."

"Listen to yourself, just three runic languages. When was the last time you learned three languages at once?"

"Point taken."

The reason Madam Prince didn't come bustling over to tell the two boys off is because they had learned the privacy ward by Diana. The spell was Quiescis Canetis. It erects a ward around a certain area that tunes' out sound around them. Nobody outside can hear what's going on inside, and people inside can barely hear people outside.

Hadrian wished there was a version that let him hear what is going outside whilst blocking out what other people could hear. Not being able to hear what is going on around is quite a flaw. Unlike in the Slytherin Common Room, near the tables, there were three suits of armor to prevent that flaw. Diana had told them that if anyone that wasn't specifically invited came close or fired a spell, the suits of armor would handle them. That wasn't a luxury they had outside.

"Alright that is it, I am going back to arithmancy, I already memorized the Nordic and Greek runes. The Venetian runes can wait a bit longer. You continue."

"Alright, suit yourself."

Hadrian continued with reading and making notes on runes whilst Antoninus had gone back to arithmancy. Antoninus was quite the prodigy with the subject. It was essentially muggle mathematics. Hadrian was good at maths, but never to the extent that Antoninus was. Antoninus loved that subject with passion ever since their time in the Orphanage. Hadrian didn't know how far Antoninus went, but he could tell by some of the books Antoninus took to read and make notes on that they were 4th or 5th year arithmancy books. _He must have literally absorbed knowledge from those books like a sponge soaked with water for the last two weeks… then again… wizarding mathematics was a lot easier than the muggle one… Antoninus was already doing calculus from a notebook that some kid left behind in the local library on one of our few visits there…_

Hadrian then caught someone striding towards them from the corner of his eye. He flicked his wand underneath the table and canceled the sound ward. He looked up and saw his brother, by himself.

"Harr- I mean, Hadrian."

There was a brief silence.

"Yes?"

"Mom and Dad would like you back for the summer."

Hadrian didn't even hesitate the slightest in replying immediately.

"Can Antoninus come?"

Julian's lips tightened and he gave Antoninus a look.

"Dad's made it clear that he can't-"

"Then I won't be either."

Julian looked shocked for a second. He then raised his voice at Hadrian.

"You would choose him over coming back to your family? To Dad, Mom and me?"

Hadrian slammed table and stood up to glare at his brother. Antoninus luckily recognized Hadrian's imminent anger and cast the privacy ward.

"Without question! I would take my abysmal life in the Orphanage over coming back if it meant I am to leave without Antoninus! If that is all, then you can leave!"

"I don't understand you! Why are you so defensive of him but so aggressive against your family! You-"

"Because, you idiot, he has been more family then you ignorant and bigoted lot!"

"I'm not bigoted! He is just a Black, they all followed You know who and betrayed our-"

"Voldemort is his name, Julian! Gosh, you're the boy-who-lived and you are scared to say his name! If the old goat didn't tell you, then I will now! I'm sick of his little games! Antoninus and I fought Voldemort. Tracey Davis, that girl that hangs out with us was hit by the cruciatus curse and knocked out! Antoninus carried her unconscious body throughout the entire time we were being chased with the killing curse! Does that sound like some slimy Slytherin who works for You know who? He was raised in a fucking Orphanage! Not with the Blacks! You say your not bigoted? Think again! Look how you categorize all the Slytherin wizard and say they are all dark wizards. Look at your friend Weasley and how poorly he mouths off at all of us. Not all of us want to grow up and torture muggles for fun! If you can't get your arrogant and thick skull around that then I won't even entertain the idea of living in the same house as you or our parents!"

Hadrian's tirade had left Julian speechless. Hadrian's emerald eyes burned with a green flame. Julian looked away with an ashamed, hateful and confused face.

"Just leave."

Hadrian's cold words were registered in Julian's head. Julian didn't know what to do. His Mom had told him to do all he could to get Harry to come back, whilst his Dad said no Blacks were even allowed 100 miles near the house. What could he do? Julian just walked away, not knowing how his parents were going to react.

* * *

Hadrian and Antoninus sat down in their seats. The two of them each faced against a Carrow Twin, Flora and Hestia Carrow. The 6th year male Prefect, Fabian Murton, sat next to Hestia Carrow whilst Marcus sat next to Antoninus on his left. _Huh… the three Slytherin Quidditch chasers sat together on one side… what a coincidence…_ Diana, obviously, sat at the central Head Serpent's seat.

"Any news?"

Flora Carrow instantly spoke up. Hadrian and Antoninus over the last two weeks have identified that those 5th-year twins were the most talkative bunch out of everyone… and slightly crazy and unpredictable.

"I heard from a baby first year that Hadrian is now a renowned terror with a wand! He beat 16 students in a row without breaking a sweat."

Everyone at the table turned to look at him.

"It isn't anything special, barely any of them knew how to cast a shield charm, they were all third-year and below."

Fabian then cleared his throat too quiet everyone down.

"I have heard that our new DADA teacher next year is Gilderoy Lockhart."

Flora and Hestia Carrow instantly rolled their eyes and replied in unison.

"Boring…"

"Whatever, as long as we still can win the Inter-house Quidditch cup next year before I graduate, that is fine with me."

The conversation went on and on. Hadrian honestly found it quite mundane, he thought it was going to be a lot more_…_ confrontational? Aggressive? Addressing the politics and political maculations of different factions. _Maybe it is because Diana keeps them all in line… and there has been any sort of political clout since Voldemort is not yet known to be back__…_

"It's time, we will show Hadrian and Antoninus the room."

Diana then handed them a piece of parchment as everyone else nodded their heads and stood up.

_Sephiroth's Shrine is at the turn to the staircases in Slytherin House of Hogwarts. What?_

Hadrian then handed Antoninus the parchment. Antoninus read it as well with a confused expression. The group then left and dragged Hadrian and Antoninus along with them. They walked down the corridor that led to the spiral staircase that led down to the dormitories. There was a turn before the staircases.

"When was there another corridor that goes further?"

"Answers will come to those that wait for them Antoninus."

Diana had said that in a goosebumpy cheerful tone. _Seriously… that kind of… nevermind… that was also the second time Antoninus has been blindsided this year_… _first the cloak… now this corridor…_

We then came to a dead end. Diana then pressed a seemingly random blank spot on the smooth walls, then a doorway materialized out of nowhere on the left. Hadrian and Antoninus then followed on inside the room. And what a room it was! There were shelves full of books, notes, and scrolls at the edges of the octagonal shaped room. Hadrian looked up and saw a stone snake on the sealing. It reminded him of the few Chinese art paintings, he saw in his local library, where there was a dragon coiled up on the ceiling, staring down with its jaws open. In this case, it was a snake. Hadrian then saw a familiar portrait above a pensive at the back of the room.

Hadrian eyes the widened before he realized it was Pistis' portrait. Please don't talk, Please don't talk, Please don't talk.

"Welcome, Hadrian, Antoninus to Sephiroth's Shrine. The Shrine is essentially a hidden library and archive of the past Slytherins in the school. There are a few spells here from the restricted section of the library as well as a few others not listed. There is a board, if you look on your right, of the past Serpents and Head Serpents of Slytherin."

Hadrian and Antoninus took a minute to look around the room. It truly was marvelous. Hadrian locked eyes with Pistis for a bit but said nothing. Hadrian walked over to the list of previous Serpents and Head Serpents to look one name, and one name only. Tom Marvolo Riddle. He found it. Riddle became a Serpent in his second year in the 1939-1940 school year. He then became Head Serpent from the 1941-1942 school year till the 1944-1945 school year, his final year at Hogwarts.

"Now, remember, anything inside the Shrine can't be taken out. If you want to learn spells, bring a journal or book to come and take notes. If you try to take anything out, it will just zip back to where it was placed in the first place. Also, that pensive over there, don't touch it unless I specifically allow it. It is strictly reserved for Head Serpents only. Touching without my permission will cause you one week at St. Mungo's medical ward."

_Yikes!_ Hadrian and Antoninus gave each other a look.

"Diana, how come nobody has ever even heard or noticed this place. When we walked past it was a visible hallway, but previous it just looked any other regular hallway with a corner in it."

"That Antoninus is because of a charm called the Fidelius Charm. It conceals everything and makes everyone who knows of a place forget it. Everyone except a secret keeper, who writes it down on a piece of parchment."

_Sephiroth's Shrine is at the turn to the staircases in Slytherin House of Hogwarts. So that's what the parchment was for!_

_"_However, this place is also tied to you by the blood Sephiroth took from you at the Seats of the Seven Serpents. Even if you know it, you can't enter unless you are a Serpent. Not even an Heir of Slytherin can enter without first offering his blood to Sephiroth."

This garnered a few looks from even the old timer Serpents.

"Really? I was aware of the exemplary blood magic by Sephiroth, but it goes that far? Even restricting Slytherin's own bloodline? Extraordinary_…"_

"What about the spell in the corridor? I felt something nibbling at my mind when I walked through into the concealed corridor."

Diana smiled at Antoninus' next question.

"Very perceptive Antoninus, I wonder if you are an Occlumens?"

Antoninus said nothing, but just simply gave a small smile back at Diana. He knew how she played with these back and forth suggestive comments.

"It is the Confundus Charm, albeit, a very powerful version of it. It dissuades people from believing there is anything to look at and to move on. I am not sure if it is purely a regular Confundus Charm. Slytherin might have done a modified version of the spell. It is so powerful that if someone tossed a spell at the empty corridor, they would believe it struck a solid wall. If they saw someone enter this corridor, they would just think they turned the other corner instead. It is an incredibly tricky piece of advanced magic."

Hadrian and Antoninus' mouth had dropped open. _My god, such magic like that exists?_

"Now, the other Serpents and I have our own business to attend to, browse at your heart's content."

And with that green light to go, the two boys over the next three days did whatever they could to learn as much as possible from the material in the room before they left Hogwarts.


	19. Chapter 19: Negotiating with Flamel P1

**Chapter 19: ****Negotiating**** with Flamel (PART 1)**

Nicholas and his wife Perenelle Flamel had been thoroughly shocked when they got the letter from the unknown thieves. Nicholas' eyes had nearly popped out of his 600-year-old body when he saw the traps that were being described. When Albus told him that his stone was stolen, he said the thieves were incredibly crafty, they somehow broke past his incredibly well laid out traps. _Incredible my ass! The traps Albus explained were so much more complex than what the thief described! _

"Nicholas, what do we do? We have enough elixir for another 300 years… should we go through with the thieves' demands?"

Nicholas picked up the untraceable and anonymous letter again, there was a pocket watch in the envelope that came with it. The demands actually weren't that unreasonable. An Oath to secrecy and no retaliation back was understandable from their point of view. 10,000 Galleons was hardly worth much in Nicholas' eyes. The part about only fire and shadow magic knowledge intrigued him. However, the thieves made it sound like they stole the stone to just return it to him. They even were willing to show their honest intentions and Albus' traps through a pensive! The bargain wasn't anything that significant. They didn't even demand for access to the elixir of life. Immortality was of no interest to the thieves. The thieves have piqued his interest. Nicholas took out the pocket watch and saw that the portkey will activate in 18 days.

"Perenelle, mark my calendar for June 3rd!"

* * *

Hadrian and Antoninus were currently inside Sephiroth's Shrine.

$$ You still can't tell me of unleashing the whatever? Even when I have access to this room? $$

$$ Sorry Hadrian… but that is a completely different matter… $$

Hadrian looked back over and saw Antoninus making notes on another few spells they had found from the books they read so far. They had been reading and making notes on what they could of the material they found in Sephiroth's shrine over the last three days.

They had discovered a few new spells. From the books they found so far, the learned of Confundere, the conjunctive curse that blinds the person hit with it, Aparecium, reveals objects hidden from sight, Homenum Revelio, reveals humans who are hidden from sight, Colloportus, the locking charm, and Cave Inimicum, a better version of the Caterwauling charm. These spells weren't that great in a duel, but it was very useful if they were used for security and to avoid traps and ambushes. It was also great for making things visible to Hadrian as Antoninus could see things with his Eye of Kilrogg and then reveal them for Hadrian.

They had another hour before the train at Hogsmeade left, so they were going to leave in a couple more minutes. Hadrian then felt a tickle go down his spine. The Cave Inimicum had alerted him someone was coming. Hadrian then did a silent gesture at Pistis before diving back into the book in his lap.

"Still down here devouring all the Shrine has to offer?"

Hadrian and Antoninus both looked up to see Diana walk in by herself.

"Of course. We need to get started while we can. Won't be here for another two months."

"That is a good attitude to have."

Hadrian and Antoninus then both felt the silencing ward Quiescis Canetis set in place.

"There isn't much time until you leave, so let me be frank, what are you going to do if Voldemort comes back? I personally firmly believe that he will return. I am under oath to not reveal my source, so don't ask about that. When he does, who will the two of you stand with?"

Hadrian and Antoninus were completely caught off-guard by such a deep question. They had expected that she was under oath to not tell how she knew Quirrell ages ago, so that was no surprise. Hadrian and Antoninus both thought about this for a long time. Antoninus then responded first.

"We won't be joining Voldemort. We don't subscribe to his blood purist ideology. Also the fact he tried to kill us is another reason… he is for a lack of a better word, insane…"

"And we won't be joining Dumbledore's gang either. Maybe once or twice, but the old goat has shown he would let others die first before interfering. That is not good enough for us either. In some sense… I guess you can say we will be fighting on our own, not standing with anyone. Kind of like our own faction…"

Diana then smiled.

"I see. That is good to hear. You two better go upstairs and get your things and leave. You will be cutting it too close if you leave any later."

Antoninus quickly to one last glance at the books he was reading, made a few more notes in his journal, then tidied the things up and put the books back on the shelf.

"Till next year then Diana, have a great summer."

"Till next year Hadrian, have a great summer as well."

Antoninus said his farewell's with Diana as well. Once back in their room, they shrunk down their trunks and left for the train station. They met Daphne and Tracey there. The four of them then got into a compartment at the end of the train. As they sat down, Antoninus waved his wand and used the recent spell he learned, Colloportus, to lock the door. He then unshrank all their luggage and started levitating them one by one to above their heads. Hadrian then closed his eyes and pointed his wand at the door. He cast a Confundus charm and a privacy ward on this room. _That should keep any Malfoy's or annoying boy-who-lived away. _

"What did you just do Hadrian?"

"Just made sure nobody would bother us."

Daphne just narrowed her eyes at him but said nothing. Hadrian, Antoninus, and Daphne then all brought out books to read. Antoninus read his arithmancy notes and began doing a few equations he had written down earlier. Hadrian went back to learning Venetian runes. He almost finished learning all three runic languages. He would then be able to start on formulating and understanding the theory on wards. Daphne brought out her potions book journal and began studying third-year potions. Tracey just mopped and kept talking to basically herself all train ride. Antoninus and Daphne entertained every now and then by responding, but otherwise, both were drawn in by the reading material.

It was now fifteen minutes until the train pulled into King's Cross Station. Both boys looked up that window and shut their books. They both levitated their trunks down.

"This is it girls, Hadrian and I are going to get a head start on ditching his parents and brother. I would ask you both to owl and write to us… but… it is not exactly ideal. Dumbledore could intercept the letters, or read them over."

"This really sucks, who am I going to ask if I am stuck on homework?"

Daphne then gave Tracey a jab in the stomach.

"Excuse me? Am I no longer good enough?"

Hadrian and Antoninus both put their journals inside their trunks before shrinking it down and pocketing them.

"Well, this is it. See you at the start of next year. Please apologize to Lord and Lady Greengrass for both of us Daphne. I know we were originally going to meet them today, but I don't think me and Antoninus will be able to slip away if we do. We will definitely meet your parents at the start of next semester on the platform… or if we are lucky enough, meet in Diagon Alley when doing our second-year shopping."

"It is fine, father will understand. Your Gringotts appointment is important. Especially since Dumbledore and your parents don't want you going to the bank. All the more reason for you to grasp whatever chances you guys have."

Antoninus unlocked the door, whilst Hadrian brought down the privacy ward and Confundus.

"Until next time then! Daphne, Tracey!"

Antoninus then vanished from the girls' vision in a blink of an eye. It was so sudden and abrupt. Both looked shocked at how he disappeared.

"See you next semester. Daphne, Tracey!"

Hadrian then also disappeared from their view. The girls watched him fade into invisibility instead of that instant snap of the fingers disappearance that Antoninus did. The two boys made it near the exit of the last carriage when they heard a loud yell from their compartment. _Probably Daphne…_ The train was then about to pull into the station. The second the exit opened, Hadrian and Antoninus slipped out. Hadrian took the lead, as Antoninus could see him and follow where he was going. They quickly slipped through the barrier completely unnoticed and went quite a bit of a distance away from King's Cross station. Once they were far enough, Hadrian and Antoninus canceled the disillusion charm and called for the Knight Bus. They had asked Daphne and researched this route beforehand. With a sudden acceleration of the bus, they were off on their way to the Leaky Cauldron.

Daphne and Tracey at this point just got off the Hogwarts Express and were looking for Daphne's parents. Tracey was staying over at her place this summer, so the two stuck together as they wandered through the crowds. The two of them still can't believe that the two boys knew how to do the disillusion spell, and perform it so flawlessly. There had been no ripples or any irregular fluctuations with the surroundings. Daphne then spotted her parents. She and Tracey then walked over to them.

"Daphne, Tracey, I thought that Mr. Potter and Mr. Black would be with you."

Daphne just gave her father, Cyrus Greengrass a look of I promise to tell you later. She then gave her mother, Roxanne Greengrass the same look.

"Alright then, we better get-"

"Excuse me, Lord Greengrass."

Cyrus spun around to see Lady Potter, a grumpy Lord Potter not too far away, and the boy-who-lived next to him. Daphne showed no reaction, and hid her emotions well, despite wanting to laugh and boast at Lady Potter that her elder son is long gone and did so in brilliant fashion as well. Tracey also seemed to hide it well, despite not being good at concealing her emotions, she did pretty well this time.

"Yes, Lady Potter, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

Lily then glanced at Daphne and Tracey.

"I was hoping to inquire about the whereabouts of my elder son, you see I have been looking for him. Since both your daughter and her friend here are friends with him, I was hoping if they could tell me if they have seen him."

Cyrus' eyes narrowed slightly, whilst Roxanne looked at Daphne for her explanation, wondering what this was about.

Daphne didn't hesitate or show anything irregular and replied in her usual monotone voice that she uses with people she wasn't familiar with.

"Yes. He was here not too long ago. You must have just missed him Lady Potter. We did sit quite far back in the train."

That seemed to be good enough for Lily.

"Thank you. Lord Greengrass, Lady Greengrass."

Lily then bolted off through the crowd towards the end of the train area. Lord Potter and the boy-who-lived following after her in a hurry. Daphne gave her a father instantly a look of leave now before it is too late. Cyrus quickly guided them to near the end of the platform. The four of them linked arms and he activated the portkey to Greengrass Manor. When they appeared in the garden outside the Manor, Roxxane instantly got onto her daughter about what just happened.

"So Daphne, are you two going to tell Cyrus and I what that was about?"

Daphne and Tracey gave each other a quick look.

"Hadrian and Antoninus had an urgent meeting at Gringotts and dashed off early. It was something to do with the Black's vaults. Hadrian also didn't want to go back to Potter Manor for the summer, so he left with Antoninus."

Both Cyrus and Roxxane looked shocked.

"W-why? I can understand Black's side of things… as he is an Orphan with Dumbledore as his guardian. How come Potter is on that bad terms with his parents. Based on your letters, I got the impression that both Potter and Black were geniuses with a wand and destroying the academic rankings in all subjects. How come Potter's relationship with his family is that strained?"

Tracey then looked at the ground as Daphne gathered herself. She took a deep breath before talking.

"This is a bit personal for them both mother, but they were raised in an Orphanage, both of them. Hadrian met Antoninus at an Orphanage, they are childhood friends."

Lord Greengrass' calm demeanor instantly evaporated. Roxxane took a couple of breaths before replying to her daughter.

"So you are saying, a Potter grew up in an Orphanage when he wasn't even an Orphan?"

"Yes, mother."

Roxxane slapped her forhead.

"And people ask us why we dislike Dumbledore and their lot! We stay neutral for this reason! Despite the good they intend, they do more harm while trying to give lip service to the masses!"

Roxxane never had a good impression of Dumbledore or the light, neither did her husband Cyrus. Cyrus then chose to cut in at this moment, knowing his wife was getting angry.

"Daphne, you said that they dashed off early? Did they get through that giant crowd undetected?"

This caused both Daphne to slightly smile and Tracey to sport a wide grin.

"Oh father, you won't believe me if I told you how they got away and how easily they left."

That caused both Cyrus and Roxxane to raise their eyebrows.

* * *

Hadrian and Antoninus canceled their disillusionment charm once they were inside Gringotts bank. They didn't want to be seen on the streets in Diagon Alley either.

"Name please?"

"Hadrian Potter."

"Antoninus Black."

The goblin quickly shot his head up.

"Room 174, it has been prepared already. Sharptooth and Bloodfang await you both."

"Thank you, sir."

The goblin nodded at them as the boys made their way to Room 174.

"Mr. Potter! Mr. Black! Good to see you both again. Quickly, we have prepared the concealed room for you. You will be able to hear everything still! We will let you know when to come out after they made their oaths first. Then we will oversee the oath and let you know when to come out."

Both boys nodded and agreed with Sharptooth. They were about to ask something else when they were cut off.

"We will explain more to both of you soon. The Flamel's will be here soon. The portkey will activate in 12 minutes."

Bloodfang then walked over and handed Hadrian the Philosopher's Stone.

"Glad we got a head start and ditched your parents. Or else we never would have made it."

"Yeah, come on, let's go into the other room."

The two boys then left and went inside the concealed room. They heard a loud bang and a people landing.

"I am Nicholas Flamel, I am here for the meeting with the thieves."


	20. Chapter 20: Negotiating with Flamel P2

**Chapter 20: ****Negotiating**** with Flamel (PART 2)**

"They will enter the room once the oath is made first."

Nicholas gave the goblin a glare. He then both took out his wand and made the oath of secrecy first. After a flash of blue light occured in the room, the goblins then called for the two boys to come out.

"You can come out now, the oath is done."

Nicholas was quite surprised when two fairly young boys walked out. The one with glasses and green eyes had the stone in hand. The other with… my goodness… the Eye of Kilrogg! Nicholas gasped as he saw Antoninus' eyes. Antoninus then cleared his throat.

"Greetings, Lord Flamel, I am Antoninus Black, and this is Hadrian Potter, we are here to give you back your stone, in return for the favors we asked. Please excuse our blunt and straightforward request. Time is quite frankly, not on our side. We have a few other tasks to accomplish before we get sent back… home."

Nicholas was even more interested in the two boys now. Albus had mentioned that there was two outstanding boys that rivaled his achievements in Hogwarts amongst the first-years…

"Interesting… Albus has mentioned that he had two outstanding first-years after he explained to me how 'intricate' his traps were. I must admit, I had the interest to meet the two of you, but not under these circumstances."

Hadrian and Antoninus were briefly shocked. Did a 600-year-old man find them interesting? Hadrian then recovered first, shaking his head.

"Uh… Thank you, sir? We don't really know what to say. Surely two kids who just did well in school were a dime a dozen to a person like you who lived that long?"

Nicholas laughed out at his question.

"Of course, it isn't every day I come by a pair like you two. You both stole back my stone from Albus Dumbledore as first-year students and without him suspecting a thing. Not to mention… Mr. Black's Eye of Kilrogg."

Antoninus just shrugged, expecting Nicholas to know. How could he hide that secret from a man with that much life experience? He like Ollivander would have easily noticed.

"Now then… as you both are short on time. I have a large collection on shadow and fire spells specifically. Although you technically don't have to give me a reason, as our agreement was for me to give you all the knowledge I had on them. Please, would you satisfy my curiosity as to why you two specifically asked for spells referring to these two categories."

Hadrian saw no harm in telling him. He was after all, under an oath.

"We aren't exactly too sure sir. It is just that we find these spells to learn easier. Fire spells come more naturally to me, whereas shadow spells come more naturally to Antoninus. We can't actually manipulate and produce fire or shadows on its own. Does that make any sense?"

Nicholas almost tripped and fell over. Was this coincidence or fate? For a moment, the two boys image shimmered and he saw Albus and Gellert.

"Forgive me Mr. Potter, Mr. Black, it is just from what you described, you two reminded me of two young boys long ago… Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald. One was a Fire mage whilst the other was a Shadow mage."

Both boys couldn't help but gasp. _Did he just compare us to Dumbledore and Grindelwald?_ _Wait, Fire and Shadow mage? _

"Alas, maybe that is a story for another time… but essentially you two are a fire and shadow mage. It is exactly how the two of you explained. Any fire and shadow spell you learn will come more easily to you. Would I be correct to assume you are the fire one Mr. Potter? And Mr. Black the shadow?"

"Yes, sir. You got it spot on. Although… I am not sure if it was that hard to guess. Antoninus' last name sort of gave it away if you think about it."

Nicholas let out a laugh.

"Indeed… A word of advice. There is nothing wrong with wanting more power, Mr. Potter, Mr. Black, but don't lose yourself too it. Some things aren't worth sacrificing that much for. Power is gained and then lost. I hope you will utilize the knowledge that I provide you in a manner you see appropriate and responsible."

Both boys nodded at Nicholas. It was actually the most reasonable thing they heard from an adult ever. They didn't them to use their power for good and in what deemed a moral way of doing things. They just asked them to be themselves and not lose sight of that. Hadrian and Antoninus easily agreed to that.

"Here, I have condensed all the knowledge into these two grimoires I made. Oh and Mr. Black, there are some seriously, and I mean, seriously disgusting spells in there. Be careful when exploring that book. I'd advise you have Mr. Potter around if you attempt any of the large scale spells in there, or learn how to apparate first. That might save your life if things go wrong."

"Okay… thanks sir."

"Now, drop a droplet of blood on the cover of your grimoires. Then they will become yours, and only, yours to read."

Hadrian and Antoninus then bowed as they received the two grimoires. The goblins then provided them with a silver knife. Hadrian and Antoninus both cut their palm and let a drop of blood on to the cover of their own grimoires. Their palm then instantly healed after being cut by the silver knife. _This is actually quite similar to Sephiroth's bite…_

Nicholas then took out a metal ore from his pocket. He then tossed it at the open space in the room and unshrunk the ore to a mound of metal. Hadrian then handed the stone over to him. Nicholas touched the stone to the metal and muttered an incantation in a language Hadrian and Antoninus didn't recognize. The entire mound then turned into gold instantly.

"That should be enough, maybe a little more than 10,000 Galleons. Well then, I believe that concludes our business. I need to have some serious words with Albus… of course, I won't be revealing any of your involvement. I would hope to hear from both of you perhaps in the future… And before we leave, please, if you write to me, call me Nicholas."

"Then please, call me Hadrian."

"And I Antoninus."

After Nicholas left, both boys had the gold converted into Galleons and moved to their new vault, vault 1037. Both boys then sat down in front of the goblins Sharptooth and Bloodfang.

"Alright, Mr. Potter, I will get straight into it. I hinted at you earlier this year about my position here in Gringotts. I am not the accountant of the Potter family but the accountant for the Peverell Family, a family that has long ago been married into to Potters."

Hadrian thought about it for a second, the name Peverell sounded familiar.

"Is the by chance the same Peverell's from the Tale of three brothers?"

Both Sharptooth and Bloodfang gave them a cruel smile.

"Yes Mr. Potter, you see, when Griphook, the goblin in charge of the Potter's finances, filed away the reports for your trust fund, I found it quite suspicious. I explained before how things didn't add up, so I did a check with you the very first time you came to Gringotts."

Hadrian nodded his head.

"The point I am trying to get at Mr. Potter is that I have seen a few other files. Though there is nothing concrete yet, there only have been a few letters exchanged with Griphook and Lord Potter. However… I haven't been kept in the loop for obvious reasons… I strongly suspect that they are planning to cast you out of the Potter family."

Hadrian didn't look too surprised, whilst Antoninus nearly fell out of his chair.

"The nerve that they fucking have! I would shred their skin and bone for this-"

"Calm down Antoninus, I already knew my Dad was an asshole. I assume you have a solution to this accountant Sharptooth?"

"Not yet… as of now, I am still working on a solution. Unless you do anything rash on a public scale, I don't believe they will cast you out yet. They would need an excuse as the Potter family is now a sort of celebrity status. If you have read through the entire book we gave you last summer, you would realize that the Potters were very secluded before. Before they would have cast you out immediately, now they need to play politics and find a reasonable cover story to do so. I'd also thought giving you a warning in advance would do you good. I believe you were sorted into the house of Slytherin? If you were cast out of the Potter family, there could be very… unpleasant repercussions."

"You are right… thank you Sharptooth for the warning. You have given me a lot to think about."

"Then until next time, Mr. Potter, I'm sure you and Mr. Black wish to discuss what you will be investing in with Bloodfang."

Hadrian sat there to ponder for a moment. A lot really had happened in a year. He and Antoninus learned that what they were doing back in the Orphanage was magic. They came to a school and stole a priceless artifact and almost got killed by a teacher. _My life went from sneaky around in an Orphanage with Antoninus to juggling learning magic, making investments, family drama and avoiding death by a not-so-dead Dark Lord… brilliant. _

"Account Bloodfang, Hadrian and I would like to become one of the first investors in Ellerby and Skidmore's new broom, the Firebolt. Based on what we have read, we think this broom has potential. The broom could be a huge success and topple the duopoly currently held by Nimbus and Cleansweap."

Bloodfang raised his eyebrows and did some quick calculations.

"A very bold prediction Mr. Black. I do somewhat agree, based on the rumors and few articles... the broom could be the state of the art racing broom for the next two-three wizarding generations. I assume you wish to be investors and get a cut? Whilst getting free brooms yourselves?"

"Yes, Bloodfang. We'd suggest that you also only use my name, under this vault. That way Dumbledore can't do anything about it legally and Hadrian's parents can't interfere and share the cut."

"A good suggestion. I'd say you will be investing around 3000 to 4000 Galleons. I'll be securing you a deal over the summer. If you two can come back here when you do your shopping for second-year later this summer, I can let you know how the deal went."

Both boys said their thanks to Bloodfang and left after that. They disillusioned themselves and left Gringotts bank.

* * *

When they arrived near Stockwell's Orphanage, Antoninus then stopped Hadrian. Hadrian almost triggered a Cave Inimicum set up by someone.

"Fuck… Must be the old goat or my parents! They are that bloody persistent."

"We knew this was a possibility, and after what Sharptooth said… Hadrian you might need-"

"No… I would take the embarrassment of being cast out over leaving you in this rotten Orphanage alone. Dumbledore just wants to separate us, so that he can lure one of us over to his shitty cause."

Antoninus felt heartened at his friend's fierce loyalty.

"All right then, it is your funeral. Let's go."

Both boys then canceled their disillusionment charm and walked past the warning ward. Seems like they were out on a trip to the library or something. They only saw Sister Julia at the front of the Orphanage. They managed to make it to their room in the Orphanage when a quiet pop was heard in their room. Dumbledore, James, and Lily then appeared.

"Hadrian we have been looking for you over the last hour! Where have you been?"

Hadrian wasn't even going to try and lie, he just spoke the first excuse he could think of.

"We got sidetracked and watched a show at Durham street. Then there was the library, gotta read what books I can you know? Muggle literature is quite interesting."

Hadrian said it in a sarcastic tone. He then felt a tickle next to his head. _I am sure Antoninus felt that too… Nice try you old goat… _

"Excuse me, sir, that was very rude of you to try and look into our minds."

Dumbledore was shocked slightly at the blunt statement by Antoninus. He had tried to see into their minds to determine the truth, he didn't expect to get caught. _I had done it to Hadrian in my office last time… he didn't show any reaction… yes, I couldn't see into his mind but… he wasn't aware of my passive legilimency… _Lily turned to Albus.

"Albus! Did you just use passive legilimency on them!"

Antoninus then looked at the old goat, with a slight smile.

"Yes, did you just use passive legilimency on a minor sir? And also on the child that has you as their Magical Guardian?"

Dumbledore's lips thinned. James, however, took problem with Antoninus' slight disrespectful tone.

"Now listen here, Black! He is already doing you a favor by not putting you in Azkaban with the rest of your filth. Give Professor Dumbledore here the respect he-"

Hadrian twirled his wrist as the neatly stacked chairs crashed into James Potter from behind.

"I'm sorry, you were saying?"

"Hadrian, how could you-"

"Could I do what? I am not sure what I did Headmaster. He was just insulting my friend… are you insinuating am I capable of wandless magic? Do you want to try your rude legillimency scan at my or Antoninus' brain again to see the truth? You should be lucky we aren't going to the Ministry about this!"

Hadrian knew he got the old goat there. Hadrian then turned to his mother.

"Why are you three here? I thought I made it pretty clear to Julian I am not going unless Antoninus comes with me."

James by this time had pushed aside the stack of chairs that fell on him. He then whipped his wand out and shot a spell at Antoninus. Antoninus easily sidestepped it. He probably realized what James was going to do before he himself did.

"James! Control yourself!"

Dumbledore quickly attempted to stop him. Lily shocked by her husband's burst of aggression.

"YOU TOOK MY ELDER SON AWAY FROM ME! YOU TURNED HIM INTO THIS! IT IS ALWAYS A BLACK! BELLATRIX TORTURING OUR CLOSE FRIENDS ALLICE AND FRANK! AND SIRIUS! SIRIUS BLOODY BLACK GOT PETER KILLED AND NEARLY COST ME AND MY WIFE'S LIFE! NOW YOU ARE COSTING ME MY ELDER SON AND TURNING HIM AGAINST HIS REAL FAMILY!"

James shot spell after spell at Antoninus. Antoninus dived out of the way of the first few spells. He raised his hand and the closet came crashing down in front of him to tank the next few spells. James looked furious as he attempted to cast another spell, but was disarmed by Dumbledore.

"JAMES!"

Dumbledore's eyes had lost its twinkle.

"Excuse us."

Dumbledore then grabbed onto Jame's shoulder and apparated away with him. Lily looked horrified at that outburst by James. She knew Sirius' betrayal troubled him just as much the death of their fellow Order Members. Frank had been a sort of mentor for James when he entered the Auror Corps. He had shown him the ropes. To find out he and his wife were tortured to insanity by Bellatrix Lestrange, previously Black before marrying into the Lestrange family, was another reason to why he hated the Blacks so much. She didn't expect him to take it out on Antoninus to that extent. _The war had taken its toll on everyone… __but Antoninus was just a child. He didn't even grow up with the Blacks. Surely James could see that? _

Lily then felt a pair of burning green eyes glaring at her from behind.

"Hadrian I-"

"Just leave."

Hadrian said the exact same words he had said to Julian in the library. His tone was cold and harsh as well.

"I-"

"Leave."

Lily looked completely defeated. She then apparated out of their room at the Orphanage. The boys then stared at the spot she was just in for a long time.

"I better learn wards fast and put up some sort of anti-apparation ward. I really don't want another shitty visit like that over the summer."

* * *

**END - **TSOS BOOK 1: LOTS

* * *

_Doran's Ring-_

_Hi Everyone! That is the end of Book 1 for The Serpents of Slytherin series. I know there are quite a few people asking me about my other series, True Heir to Godric Gryffindor. I haven't been finding the same spark recently to keep writing it. I have a few ideas, but not sure if they are any good for True Heir. After watching Fantastic Beasts COG. Yes, I know the film has a lot of mixed reviews, but I personally enjoyed a lot of the visual effects and the portrayal of magic. MY GOD THAT BLUE FIENDFRYE WAS AWESOME! I have started this series of The Serpents of Slytherin or TSOS :D. I have seen some private dm's and comments on my quick chapter posting. I usually do a draft of most of the events in the book first before editing and rewriting a few parts. I usually don't start posting until I have a good outline of the timeline and when events will take place. I personally think this approach helps with the world building and make things line up. I kinda accidentally forgot about Ginny in the second year and couldn't go to Hogsmeade in the True Heir series xD. __I really appreciate the support and constructive criticism. __I Hope you all enjoyed Book 1! Book 2 will be coming sometime soon, so look out for that!_

_UPDATE*_

**TSOS Book 2 - Secrets of the Snakes is out now! :D**


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